MattZ

I totally called Fernando Tatis in the office pool. Schweet!

Maurice Vaughn? ahahahahahahaha

Yep. 2 in 1.

It was such a blast. Blast doesnt even describe it. Seeing YLT at Maxwell's for Hanukklah is pure perfection. All is right with the world. I have such a new found respect for the band. I loved them before the week started, but my love has skyrocketed. Some of the slower tunes from And Nothing Turned Itself... -- I have to admit that sometimes I'd get bored and skip them on the CD. But man oh man, hearing them live this week made me realize that songs like The Crying Of Lot G and Last Days Of Disco are every bit as powerful -- if not more powerful -- than tunes like Cherry Chapstick.

I always thought that "learning how to die if you want to be alive" was a reference to the fact that much of our lives are spent doing things or not doing things because of our innate fear of death. Sort of like the guy who spends his life afraid of dying of cancer because there is a history in his family and he dies of a heart attack. So I thought the point of the line was that the only way to truly live life to its fullest is to enjoy every moment for what it is. Accept that death is coming and love life. Dont sweat death, enjoy life. That's what I took from the line -- could be compl

I would like to request that the porterhouse - the king of all cuts - be added. Then, and only then, will I feel comfortable voting here. Peter Luger's porterhouse (rare or medium rare) is the beginning and ending of all discussions about the dead cow. You should also remove all references to the meat cooked more than medium, as anyone who orders their steaks this way isn't really a steak fan.

I thought this was going to be the "I live in [insert city other than Chicago] and although I am trying very hard to do so, I simply cannot rationalize a plane ticket, a 5 day pass to the Wilco Residency, and 5 days off from work" thread. I hate it here.

In other related baseball news, a Mets groundkeeper laid some new sod in the outfield and, according to rumors, Omar Minaya's secretary was 8 minutes late to work today but there were "train problems."

I don't even get the concept of "overpaid" anymore. I mean, who cares? If he is signed by a team with a budget that can replace him if he's a flop, what's the difference? It's not like this is a cash poor franchise that just blew through its self-imposed salary cap.

I have to admit this was my initial reaction to the news also.

David Cross on comedy and Howard Kaylan (of The Turtles) was the special guest for the encore on night 8. What a week. I made it to nights 4, 6 and 8. Getting out to (and back from) Hoboken is not the easiest thing in the world. Stumbled home at 2am all three times. At work by 8am. But hey - you Chicago folks get Wilco Residencies. Well fine. We get Yo La Tengo for Hannukah!!

I am still in New York and I am still rationalizing.

I agree. And then, The Spirit of Giving is going to make my top ten. And yet, I was slightly disappointed with Challengers.

The internal rationalizing has already begun...

Jeez this looks sweet. You Chicago folks are so damn lucky.

I was 5. Don't remember much of anything about that day except that I saw my mom crying and asked her what was wrong. She pulled me aside and said, in that voice of hers, someone special died today. I think I understood as well as any 5 year old could. RIP John.

I dont even know what you mean here, but I know I disagree with you.

major vibes from NYC

Caught the 4th night of Hannukah last night at Maxwell's with Yo La Tengo. Such a treat. The set itself was fantastic with classics like Cherry Chapstick, Sugarcube, Tom Courtenay and newer rockers like Pass the Hatchet and Should've Known Better. The big surprise of the night was Alex Chilton joining them on stage for the encore. No Big Star songs, but a Carole King, Kinks, Stones, VU/Nico covers (and one more that I can't remember). I was lucky enough to snag a setlist. Amazingly, some dude has already posted videos on Youtube: Sugarcube: Cherry Chapstick: Til The End of the

Have a great birthday Mountain Bed...

I am going to Yo La Tengo's hannukah show tonight at Maxwell's. annnnnnnnnd here was last night's set (see encore). Talk about some gospel... Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's 6 December 2007 *(Hanukah, night 3)* The dB's and Eugene Mirman opened. Mix disc by Todd Abramson. Nuclear War (Sun Ra) Five Cornered Drone (Crispy Duck) The Race Is On Again Autumn Sweater The Weakest Part Mr. Tough No Water (with Chris Stamey of the dB's on guitar) I Wanna Be Your Lover (Bob Dylan) (with CS on organ, Gene Holder on guitar, Will Rigby on 2nd drums) Cast A Shadow (Beat Happening) (with GH and WR on drums

Hells yes. I have also heard Di Fara's in Brooklyn is fantastic, but have never been there. Supposedly the best in NYC. And the only John's worth going to is the one on bleecker. Since Lombardi's expanded it just isn't the same.

...it's a breath you took too late it's a death that's worse than fate.

I think El F's point (and it's a fair one, I think), is that many pro-choice advocates argue that embryos aren't persons and so you aren't killing a person. But a 24 week old fetus is one that can survive on its own outside of the womb. If you accept for the sake of argument that an embryo is not a person, well, that embryo becomes a person at some point. Where is that point? At 9 months when it pops out? At 6 months when it is viable on its own? You could easily make an argument that it is the latter. If it can survive on its own, how is it not a person? I have a habit of putting wor

Apparently, my joke from yesterday didn't stick. I will try one more time to set the record straight. Sorry, I will bow out now. Carry on.