Just Flotsam

Like a father to a child, scattering toys and candy out in a dazzling array in the hopes of a distraction-free televised sporting event (I give you...Parenting!), I offer you these less-than-filling leavings:

A link! It's a Yelp! review. This place is about three blocks from my house. It's a monolithic white building with a little "reading room" in front.

Here's more info on their religion.


An observation! Here in the Pacific NW, there are almost no shrimp. Anything larger than cocktail shrimp (or Calabash, as we called them in SC) are called prawns. Growing up in Michigan, I had always thought prawns were something like crayfish, and would only be found in bayou country or something. Then, restaurants in Ann Arbor of a certain class (the class that puts an elegant "24" next to the blue cheese-topped, rosemary buttered Kobe sirloin; not "$24", never "$23.95") began to feature dishes with prawns. This subtle change made these cheap, fleshy, aquatic bugs seem like something that you hunt at great personal risk. I think this trend in nomenclature is referred to as Manhattanization. However, the universality of this local usage leads me to believe that it is long-standing and genuine. I had Curry Prawns from the Thai delivery place tonight.

A cute picture!

Do you think I could be a nerd, too?

Always one to be late to the party (I only just started wearing dark, skinny jeans (drainpipes to you Scots) and uber-tight white t-shirts while sipping my Yerba Mate with Joanna Newsom twittering on in the background), I've decided that it is time for me to delve into the world of role-playing games. What, you ask, has led me to this most base state of existence? Have I no friends? Did some crisis strike my life that has led to a regression from reality, necessitating play-acting with dice? To the first question, I suggest that taking on such an endeavor actually implies a base of supportive and like-minded friends. To the second, I point to the benefits, upon advancing in age, of mental exercise that is intended to keep the imagination sharp.

I played a little D&D in my first, less successful phase of attending college. In one session, I used a character that someone had been using previously. In another, I did a bit of homework and attempted to DM the session. Both of these sessions were with rather inexperienced players, so I never really got a sense of what role-playing is all about.

Last year, Mustafa (and Kathy) put in a great deal of work to prepare background materials for a Call of Chthulu stand-alone scenario. Jonathan, Theresa, and I were the players in this case, taking on what turned out to be a pretty creepy vampire in a very well-run game. Again, I don't think that any of us (except Mustafa) had had much experience in actually role-playing. If we had all had more time on our hands, we could have probably made up a regular group and honed our characters and role-playing skills.

My experiences playing Arkham Horror and fantasy boardgames like Prophecy have, more recently, whet my appetite for some RPG goodness. This has reached the point where I am seriously hunting down a few books that I owned back in fifth grade--namely, the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide. You know, for bedside reading. Some of our new (and old) friends here in the Emerald City are (or were) regular RPGers, and I'm hopeful that I can either squeeze into a slot on one of their game nights or start my own up.

The number of quality RPG worlds out there is actually pretty high. D&D is a classic, and is more than sufficient for that genre. But Deadlands (the Weird West) is also intriguing. The world of Lovecraft, of superheroes, etc., all beckon, but not in a Peter Pan way. It's more of a "get together and tell a good story" kind of situation that I'm seeking.

As I don my wizard hat, I hope that you'll wish me well, and not judge me too harshly...

Happy Earth Day

Earth Day is a great time to make a lasting change in our lives. We can use less energy, reduce pollution, resolve to vote for officials who have green voting records, contribute funds to worthwhile organizations, and even take steps to make our own properties less of a problem for the local ecosystem. Jill and I are planning to install a porous driveway and patio using interlocking stones and to convert a large portion of the property to "natural" area, in order to reduce the amount of mowing and to better control runoff. We have checked into solar panels and are probably going to go for it next year. The state of Washington offers tax breaks for homeowners who install solar panels from in-state manufacturers.

The city of Seattle is known for it's progressive legislation, which can lead to much-needed reforms as often as well-meaning debacles. In regards to trash collection, they have provided homeowners with 4 different choices of trash container sizes. There are penalties for having a large proportion of recyclables in your trash. That's the stick; the carrot is the difference in cost to recycle versus waste disposal: a large bag of garbage costs around $6, the same volume of recycling costs a little over $3, and it's just over $2 for yard waste/composting pickup.

We have a large trash roller bin, a large yard waste roller bin, a paper/cans/plastic recycling roller bin, and a smaller recycling bin for bottles. Food waste, excepting meats and dairy, can go into the yard waste bin, which is sent to a composting yard. As I've said before, I don't mind this kind of trash policing, although it forces you to make a trip to the dump if you have an excess of trash. We had about 15 bags of styrofoam packing board from furniture purchases, and it would have been quite expensive to leave them out by the trash cans. It cost me 30 minutes and $10 to take them to the transfer station myself.

In most household trash, about 1/3 is compostable table scraps, including coffee grounds, all veggie scraps, nuts, eggshells, and cereals, such as rice. We've noticed a huge reduction in our weekly trash output since we started separating out these items. We're going to get a composting tumbler for the yard sometime soon, instead of sending our scraps off to the city.

Our countertop composter


Get out there and be a hero!

Since you asked

Sonja suggested that our new couch is the Mother of All Sofas. As anyone who has rested upon it can attest, it is RATHER comfortable. It's not as huge as all that, however. We had a lot of trouble finding just the right size for our space.

Here's some more shots of it. It has enriched our lives beyond all human reckoning.

Tasting: Saison DuPont Farmhouse Ale

I love the look of the label on the bottle. It makes one think that good times are right around the corner. And they are! Just uncork one of these babies and have the chilled glasses at the ready.

The pour is golden and foamy, with crazy yeast all over the place. It has a bit of a light, sour smell mixed in with the light yeast and hops nose, which reminds me of those first beers I drank in secret as a teenager. But, unlike those, this beer has a nice, clean flavor. The bitterness of the hops is the first thing you notice, on top of the bready yeast and light malt sweetness. These distinct flavors are floating on this rich carbonation that mellows the whole concoction out. The finish is hop-bitter that quickly fades to homeopathic levels, inviting another sip. At 6.5% ABV, you can afford to sip awhile.

This beer has joined the Pantheon of Great Beers.

Prophecy: a sorta review

Sorta, because I never played a full game. I ended up having to leave midway through my first game (the 2 hour time point). This didn't mess it up too badly for the other guys, as player elimination is possible. Prophecy is a fantasy boardgame that bears some similarity to Talisman, Runebound, and other role-playing-game-turned-boardgames. Overall, it felt like playing Arkham Horror, although Prophecy is not a co-op game. Here, you're competing with the other player's characters to take out typical fantasy bad guys and capitalize on special event cards.

The board is set up as a circular kingdom surrounding a sea. Getting from one place to the next quickly is part of the challenge, as you may only move one space for free. Some spaces are marked with a ship's anchor, which indicates a port from which you can travel to an adjacent port. Other spaces contain a kind of teleporter that can be used, for a cost, to travel to any other transporter. Random encounters and loot are found in the Plains, Forest, and Mountain spaces. You may purchase common or rare items in the village or city spaces.

Everyone starts with a character sheet that lists a characters strength and willpower, as well as the Guilds with which that character is associated. There are six guild spaces on the board where characters may upgrade their abilities in some way. For example, the Illusionist is a member of the Thieves Guild and the Magic Tower, and may pay experience points at the Magic Tower to gain more flexibility in moving around the board.

Much of the early game is a race to certain places on the board. This is because random encounters in the wilderness are revealed on almost every player's turn. Some of these are monsters to be vanquished for XPs and gold, some are treasures, and some are press your luck encounters with mystical characters. There can be up to two encounters per space, and they're not always exposed before you land on them . You have to fight anything that you encounter (I've never played Talisman, but I've been told that combat is nearly identical in this game). So basically, you run around the board, managing XPs, gold, strength cubes, and willpower cubes, often trading one for another to set yourself up for your next few moves.

Eventually, you get to be enough of a stud that you can take on the real prizes: the Guardians of the Astral Plain! Excited? Read on! There are five "sky" spaces on the board, on which stacks of three cards are placed. The top card is a Lesser Guardian, which is usually a bit tougher than anything that you'd encounter in the wilderness. The second card is the Greater Guardian, which is usually a real pain. The third card is an Artifact, which you get to keep by vanquishing the Greater Guardian. Artifacts bestow beneficent bounty on their bearers, and enhance their badassery. The first player with 4 Artifacts is the winner. This means that players must go after each other. If a player is killed, he drops any Artifacts.

So, that's it: Go around the board, acquiring and spending your assets to improve your character. Turns are very simple and relatively quick, but limited, so that you need many, MANY turns before you get to the point where you can go Artifact hunting.

So, what did I think? Mostly, I liked it. It's not overly cerebral, which means that there's ample space for conversation and levity. It works for what it is. On the downside, it's a little repetitive, and it takes perhaps too long to ramp up your abilities. And one of my favorite parts of Arkham, the potential to throw a double-fistful of combat dice, is sadly missing in this system. I'm unclear on how good it would be the 5th time I play it. There are two promised expansions that have, so far, experienced delays, so time will tell how well this system is supported. With all of that said, I really want to play again soon.

When I have just a bit more time.

Photographic Interlude II

Let's not ruin this with too many words, shall we?

The, er, salient features on the board are demarcated for your viewing pleasure.



Elaine and her BFF Madeleine


Still friends, even in jail. Creepy, mind-controlling friends.


Couch.

That 'n This

Okay, time to cover a few items from Monday's post:

1) Why am I the world's worst Puerto Rico player? Could it be because I lose all the time? Like, last place losing, with remarkable consistency. I realize that my argument is a bit circular, but there you have it. Next time I play, it will be opposite day. Then they'll see.

2) What is Seattle's one, true cuisine? If you count coffee, which I don't, then it's coffee. A decent cup can be had at many a venue, but the answer to my query is actually...there isn't one. There isn't a Seattle Dog, or a Seattle Chili, or Seattle Barbecue. No one flocks in to visit the world famous Seattle Deli, or to snap up loaves of that awesome Seattle bread. The famed Cascades and their namesake hops have not inspired much in the way of great beer, at least here in town. I haven't even had a decent cake donut since moving here, but I'm still searching.

One could argue that the fish market is a huge destination, so fish must be the answer. However, you can't pop into a little place in any given neighborhood and get an order of Seattle Fish. There's some good and some bad sushi restaurants. I'm sure that there's some world class seafood to be had downtown, but the same could be said for any number of cities NOT bordering a major port. People go to the market because of the entertainment value of people throwing large fish to one another, and to eat Chinese and Japanese food and buy cheese and souvenirs.



3) What's this about a new couch? Stay tuned.

(see what I did? that's a great example of a "teaser". you have to know what's the deal with the couch, and so you have to come back monday to find out. delicious...)

My Fab Favez of 2008 LOL

OK, keeping with the music vein, here's my so-far list of the best of 2008. Bear in mind that I haven't actually heard these (except for Portishead) in their entirety, since I can't afford to be buying music at this point, but I have heard enough offerings on the radio to make an informed evaluation.

In no particular order...


Portishead Third
A hypnotic, dissonant, spare sampling of trip-hop for the 00's. If you liked Portishead in the 90's, you'll be blown away by this. It makes you feel like you're lost in between dimensions of space and time, surrounded by sorrowful ghosts.

Atlas Sound Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Solo effort from Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox. Sounds a lot like Deerhunter, in that it's a mix of ambient explorations and psychedelic pop. That's a good thing.

Los Campesinos! Hold On Now, Youngster
This is a big year for post-punk dance bands from the UK. But I find the infectious enthusiasm and sense of humor from these guys to tower over the efforts of more electro-dependent bands like Hot Chip and Ghostland Observatory (actually from Austin). Another decent record in this category is Foals' Antidote.

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend
Light, ruthlessly catchy, toe-tappy, head-bobby, smart indie pop. The rhythm section is fantastic. Another decent record in this category is Born Ruffians' Red, Yellow and Blue.

Erykah Badu New Amerykah: Part One (4th World War)
I've always had a thing for Badu. A)She's totally hot. B)She rewrites the book on what a female hip hop vocalist can do with every offering, without ridiculous vocal acrobatics. Everything that I've heard off this record indicates that nothing has changed.

These New Puritans Beat Pyramid
Another UK post-punk dance band, but harder edged and more meaty than some of the others -- kind of like how Midnight Oil and The Clash were '80s bands with more substance. In this case, however, it's not due to politics nearly as much as attitude.

I also have enjoyed what I've heard from the 2008 releases by...

Noise pop
Magnetic Fields
The Raveonettes
M83

Space Folk
Plants and Animals
Beach House

Indie Blues
Cat Power
Black Mountain



Did not have much use for...

The Mountain Goats Heretic Pride
Maybe I'm just tired of the Mountain Goats. Maybe I would like to hear the band with a different vocalist. As it is, I can't shake the feeling that I'm listening to a somewhat more literate Barenaked Ladies.

Sons and Daughters This Gift
I just don't see the point of this. The DJs are really loving it, but to me, it's just straightforward, forgettable pop.

Finally, some of my favorite quotes from Metacritic...

Some Racing, Some Stopping by Headlights
“It is a slender, limber album, blissfully aware of itself and not daring to overstay its welcome.” --cokemachineglow.com

Dive Deep by Morcheeba
“This album has no focus, so the instrumentals are left hanging on like scabby Band-Aids after a swim. – popmatters.com

Reality Check by The Teenagers
“If you’ve got the savvy to work out how some of Reality Check is actually occasionally brilliant, then you should also be able to figure out it’s also absolute s**t.” – drownedinsound.com

An Observation

When a 10 month-old human has a cold, she will resist any attempt on your part to free her face of boogery deposits by use of tissue or dampened cloth. However, she will use any other cloth-like surface to rub her face on, such as the floor or your shirt. If you should have children, and they acquire a cold at this age, I recommend wearing booger-colored shirts for a week or so. My fashionably-appointed J.Crew looks like it hosted a barn dance for snails.

Thursday is like Second Wednesday

[shameless shilling]
I want to tell you about something that is very dear to my heart. It is the local independent radio station here, KEXP. It's publicly funded radio, so there are no commercials. Unlike most public radio stations, however, this one is nearly all music. That's 4-6 songs in a row, then a brief air break to tell you what you just heard, then back to the tunes. Most of the programming is categorized as rock/eclectic, which means that they play mostly independent-label rock, electronica, and hip hop. There's some dipping into the 70's, 80's, and 90's, but instead of hearing Led Zep and the Stones, you get the Stooges and 13th Floor Elevator; instead of Tom Petty and Elton John, you get Patti Smith and Tom Waits; instead of Nirvana and Green Day, you get...ok you still get Nirvana--it IS Seattle--but you also get Belle and Sebastian and Stereolab. Best of all is the wide array of new, starving bands that fill out the majority of airplay.

Despite the indie focus, KEXP is NOT a college radio station (it started out that way, but lost funding until it gained some support and new facilities from Paul Allen of Microsoft fame). They have full time DJs, and the majority of their programming is in-house. This means no listening to dull people who are too cool to betray any aspect of their personality other than bored detachment. They make an effort to provide music that is somehow connected from song to song, so that each block of music has a certain feel. And their freedom from corporate pressure means that they have access to pretty much anything that they want to play, so you are constantly exposed to new stuff.

Often, there's a song playing for which I have utterly no use. On regular radio, this would mean that I could count on hearing that song every hour for weeks (see Red Hot Chili Peppers or Kid Rock). On KEXP, I may never hear it again. So I hold my nose for three minutes and check out what comes next. The only times I ever get sick of a song is when it's been leaked way ahead of the album, because then it gets requested all the time, or when there's an upcoming local show by a band that I dislike..

Aside from the default rock/eclectic programming, there are special shows on the weekends and weeknights from 6-9pm. Of special note are the Monday and Tuesday night shows. Monday's show is Best Ambiance, featuring music from Africa. The host does a great job of selecting interesting and varied music. Wo' Pop, on Tuesday night, features popular music from around the world, except for Africa. You won't get the Japanese version of Celine Dion with this show. You will get pop and traditional music from throughout Asia, Australasia, South America, and Europe. Both Best Ambiance and Wo' Pop are incredibly solid shows.

The cool thing is that YOU can listen to these shows, anytime you want. Just go here and select a style of music or the name of the show you want to hear, and you've got the whole station at your fingertips. There's a two-week streaming archive, so you can scroll through the playlist and find an set that looks interesting and just start at that date and hour. Finally, the website hosts some good free subscriptions, like the Free Music Song of the Day and the weekly Music that Matters podcasts.

Anyway, I hope you follow the links and explore the site. If you're not into indie/experimental music, at least check out the international shows.
[/shameless shilling]

Remember me?

Gah. I'm having a lot of trouble finding the time for this lately, in case you couldn't tell.

Here's a promise for a Fresh New Post on Wednesday...

Will I explain how I'm the world's worst Puerto Rico player?

Will there be discussion of the one, true Seattle cuisine??

Will I shamelessly pimp the local radio station yet again???

Might I brag about our homebrew, my daughter, or our BRAND NEW COUCH????

Could there be room for discussion of the best LPs of this year (in the world of English-speaking rock/indie/electronic/pop)?????!

Crows!!!???????!

***************

I'll probably get to some of that...