If You Try Sometimes

I've been listening to the Rolling Stones a bit lately, this album and this one. Both of them are part of the Stones' four consecutive huge albums stretching Starting with 1968's Beggar's Banquet, but Exile is generally regarded as their best work. Let it Bleed is also generally perceived as great, but not generally as great. I think that's messed up. Reason #1 and reason #2. There are plenty of reasons, though, including the artwork. Sorry about the crappiness of the second link there, YouTube was being particularly lame about this song, which is weird because it's kind of super famous. It's also a favorite of Pops, if I recall correctly, so a shout out there.

Robert Xgau, famed music critic and pretentious jerk claims it took him 25 times listening to Exile to really get what the Stones were doing with it, but as much as I like his particular brand of concise, harsh and arbitrary criticism, I think he's wrong on this one. The album is basically just a bunch of crap put together over the course of a few years with no real direction in mind, so there's really not that much to get. Sometimes that works out really well; see The White Album, for example. Sometimes it just leads to a garbled mess, which is what I think Exile is, though as it is old Rolling Stones, it's at least a delightful bluesy mess.

Octopuses

Octopuses are totally bayd. Hopefully that links right. If I were an Octopus, I'd call me gus.

Santa Approves the Following Beers

The Future of Drink Technology is Now

Did you ever notice how on Star Trek, every time they drink Saurian Brandy or Romulan Ale or anything else, it's always some crazy color? Even that milk that Luke is drinking in Star Wars was blue. Yet almost all of the things we drink, aside from fruit juices, fall squarely into two categories: clear and brown. So, we have to conclude that at some point in the future (or, alternately, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away), people are going to start inventing all sorts of colored drinks.

Behold, the future:


That's blue ginger ale. Suntory, what will you think of next?

Mystery Fish

I bought this fish. It is called shizu, according to the package. No English-Japanese dictionary seems to list it, so I can't figure out what it is. I found a recipe online that I sort of skimmed, so it may also be called mochiuo, which was also not listed. So, if you recognize this fish, let me know what it is. It's pretty good.

Commencing Holiday Sequence

Tomorrow (for me, if not for you) is Thanksgiving (for Americans, if not Canadians), which kicks of the holiday season. I don't really get how that works, since basically there are no holidays between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the holiday season lasts until the first few days of January, so let's say about January 4th. Of course, Thanksgiving is variable as to the day, but this year seems as good as any for an estimate, so the holiday season lasts roughly November 27th-January 4th. That's 4+31+4 = 39 days. If we average that, it is 13 days/holiday. If we look at other holidays, we see how absurd that is. We don't put on costumes October 18th. At least most of us don't. You could argue that these three (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's) are generally bigger holidays, but Thanksgiving is basically just an excuse to eat, and New Year's is basically just an excuse to drink. Also, Thanksgiving is based on a story that isn't true, and Christmas is based on a story that is at best partially true and set at the wrong time of the year.

But, all that nonsense aside, one thing is almost certain about the holiday season. That is, colds. I have a cold now, which probably has something to do with the fact that I spend all day talking to/shaking hands with/ wrestling little kids, who are basically snot factories. But, whatever, it is totally worth it. I have some medicine that I got for free (from a doctor, even!) but I can only take it at night because it makes me drowsy. So, in order to keep going, I've adopted the strategy of drinking vitamin C because I think it somehow helps fight colds. I have no real idea. That's why I bought this:


This bottle of C.C. Lemon (guess what it tastes like?) claims to contain 210 lemons' worth of vitamin C. According to the nutrition facts, that's 4290 mg. I've already drunk half the bottle today, so that's 2145 mg. The recommended dietary allowance is around 40-90 mg/day. Apparently the maximum is 2000mg, though it's not toxic or anything. We'll see what happens, I guess.

One other thing about the holidays. Apparently, it is becoming fashionable for blogs to post Christmas lists. If anyone out there wants to get me something here is what you should do:

1. Write down the price of whatever thing you want to send me.

2. Make out a check for the amount in step one (1) and send it to:

John Link Benefit Fund
370 Interlocken Blvd., Suite 400
Broomfield, CO 80021

3. If you are so inclined, let me know how much you sent.

I DO NOT WANT ANYTHING OTHER THAN THIS. If you send me anything, I will have to take it with me when I return to the states or mail it ahead of time which is sort of costly and annoying. Also, I just don't want anything unless you have a lot of peace on earth and goodwill towards men sitting around.

野菜？ 果物？ 決めてよ！

Is this a tomato? No, it is a persimmon that is very deep orange, almost red. I thought they were tomatoes at first.

Yep, that's seriously the whole update.