Victims of Freshness
The words "more fresher" were uttered many times to me today.
Some answers regarding the current Chipotle crisis based on my conversation with the manager of my workplace Chipotle.
The recipes haven't changed, I was told; apparently, though, the stores will be making the salsas from fresh ingredients on site. This means your salsa will be fresher.
It's funny then, that your salsa tastes more like not fresh salsa.
Still, it may be necessary to plead the Cheese and Macaroni defense. It's true that fresh ingredients often do equal better food, but occasionally they don't. Macaroni and Cheese is horrid trash if made with real cheese, but dehydrated cheese is enough to make kids worship the stuff.
FREE GREEN CHILI!
Input by Mike at 10:46 PM
If you see Beatles albums go on sale for incredible prices, DON'T buy them!!! It's all a ruse.
Picked up the reissue of Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and continue to be floored by SACD hybrid reissues (hybrid discs can be played on either SACD or CD players). The SACD format allows audio to be stored in distinct channels corresponding to a 5.1 speaker set up, so sound engineers are able to emulate the actual space which musicians recorded in. From the Crutchfield Advisor's interview with Dylan reissues producer Steve Borkowitz:
The panning presents Bruce Langhorne (guitar) on the left and the bass on the right, with Bob in the middle — exactly like the stereo. But now, you have the actually palpable sound of the musicians playing in a room — in a real space. It’s three-dimensional, just like it was when he recorded it. The only thing you hear at the back is the stuff that you would naturally hear behind you in the room.
For those without a 5.1 SACD system (I'm still not quite to that point yet either), it's important to note that the work put into the SACD tracks is so intensive that it comes across remarkably even on a simpler system. Extensive work is done working with original masters in an effort to pull out all the detail and sound they contain. You can hear instruments as individual units of a song, giving the music a much more real feel.
The Rolling Stones were the first to receive an extensive hybrid reissue discography and now we have Dylan. I've stopped buying Beatles albums hoping that they'll get similar treatment but there doesn't seem to be anything definite on the horizon.
Input by Mike at
10:24 PM
If I were to make you a tape right now...
... it would probably have these songs.
Modest Mouse Float On
I picked up this song after opening a lucky bottle of Pepsi yesterday and I have listened to it about 15 times since then. The Mousers continue to emulate the sound of the Talking Heads and now are picking up a little of their sunny disposition as well. Also, new drummer Benjamin Weikel looks funny when he plays.
David Byrne You and Eye
Speaking of the Talking Heads, I revisited this used bin pick up earlier this week and found out it wasn't as bad as I remembered. Sure, it can't touch 90% of Talking Heads songs, Byrne's warm burbling guitars and conspicuous rhythm section work together to make a pretty charming song.
Funky Four plus 1 That's the Joint
Best known for being sampled by the Beastie Boys, this nearly eight minute jam shows just how amazing hip hop was before Yo! MTV Raps made it commercially viable. Featuring four funky DJs plus female DJ, this track has everything you could possibly want.
OutKast Happy Valentines Day
This song came into the playlist last Saturday and refused to leave. Hey, when arrows do not penetrate, Cupid reaches gets his pistol.
Input by Andy at
1:10 PM
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Money For Nothing
If I ever get rich and famous (of course I mean even richer and even more famous than I am now) and I need to negociate a contract, I'm hiring one man and one man only: Scott Boras.
At least three times in the past three years, Boras has gotten his clients more money than they should have been able to get. Boras, somehow, convinces teams to bid against themselves in the persuit of his free agents.
Yesterday, Boras' client Greg Maddux signed a 3-year, $24 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. This despite the fact no other team offered Maddux a contract. The Cubs originally offered 2 years and $10 million. Boras flirted with the San Francisco Giants. The Cubs upped the offer to 2 years and $14 million. Boras was in New York to announce the Alex Rodrigues trade (more on "A-Rod" in a bit). Rumors flew that Maddux would sign with the Yankees. And guess what? The Cubs increased their offer to the final numbers.
So, without anyone else bidding for Greg Maddux's services, Scott Boras got $14 million more out of the Cubs. Brilliant.
As I said, this isn't the first time. When Alex Rodriguez signed with the Rangers, no other team in baseball bid more than about $16 million per season. Boras got the Rangers to give A-Rod almost $23 million per season. This offseason, Ivan Rodriguez signed with the Tigers after once again Boras got the team to raise their offer even though nobody else offered him a contract for more than two seasons. The result? Four years, $40 million. Ka-ching.
Years from now when the big radio stations come after me, begging me to work for them I'll direct them to my agent -- the frozen head of Scott Boras.
Input by Scot at
11:33 AM
Which is the Better Pun: Dog Days or Dog Daze?
The Guardian's L.A. dispatch reporter, Dan Glaister has brought up the claim that America is an awards-obsessed culture, especially when it comes to canines. I'd expect this from Canadian parliament, but our friends in England's press? Tsk tsk.
I think the big problem with the column itself is that Glaister says that the big story in the US was not a.) primaries b.) janet jackson's nipple c.) bush's tv interview, but was a d.) dog show. He then mentions that he found out about Westminster in a news service e-mail where it was the third story listed. Out of the four options, I'd hope that the dog show would be number 3.
But Glaister also points out that nearly 4.6 million people watched the show last year... Astonishing for a dog show or for the UK, possibly, but for prime-time US television... it's a wet newspaper. Also amazing to Glaister is that there are 58 million dog owners in the US. But the key is that there are 293 million people in the United States. There are 60 million people in the UK. If you multiply all of Glaister's US figures by five, you can see why he has deemed dogs an abnormal craze... But as it is, it's nothing special.
What's obvious, though, is that there may be a small cultural rift between the US and the UK when it comes to awards and canines and awards for canines. We're not batty because of it, as Glaister might suggest; we're just different (I feel like I'm in a third world country defending myself against US reporters and tourists). It's an issue of size and population. We have space to keep large pets, so a sixth of the population does. As far as awards go... we have a large population of creative work and a somewhat similar coast-to-coast culture, so awards help our culture to pinpoint and document what the greater works are over time. And we enjoy giving awards for much the same reason; it helps to distinguish our favorite pieces. Personal rankings work similarly (Nick Hornby's cast of characters in High Fidelity were certainly willing participants). The system is, of course, filled with flaws, but anyone will tell you that; there aren't many highly regarded awards whose awarding is highly regarded. I know a few people who are obsessed with awards, and the nominees can often get very worked up about them, but most people are only casually interested in them if at all.
But look at me... preaching to the choir. Just remember folks, Canadia and Dan Glaister are in cahoots (sp?).
Input by Mike at
9:27 AM
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Two Things Everyone Should Know
Give me a couple days to confirm the universality of this, but it appears Chipotle has changed its salsa recipes. I grew suspicious on Monday when my meal was provided "on the house" after i asked for chips and salsa (maybe i should explain that I have a handful of "usual" items which half the employees have memorized... ). Why am I being offered free food from people who know I will be back every other day until I change jobs or they change their salsa recipes? A-HA!
Sure enough... The sacred has been defiled.
Green Chili (aka crack-cocaine aka medium-hot) has been turned into a horrid parody of itself, a tomato-y edge gives it the flavor of a watered-down generic jar salsa. Chili-Corn (aka medium aka THE CORN) supposedly has a stronger onion flavor. Mild (aka tomatoes aka mild) is indistinguishable to me so far but may have a little less cilantro. Red Chili (aka chiles de arbol aka ---><HOT><-- ) is basically all pepper so it's hard to tell the difference, but it's still TOO FREAKING HOT to eat without sour cream or the direct intent to prove one's ability to eat the hottest things on the planet.
Give out a holler if you're hearing me on this, but there was the Word of God and then there was Green Chili salsa from Chipotle. The divine spoke through us through these things and now we're stuck with the NIV of both. Yeah, it's all there... but where's the poetry? Do you feel it? Crisp, clean salsa taste found nowhere else...
Gone.
Input by Mike at
9:48 PM
Je t'aime, Triomphe le chien comique d'insulte!
Unlike other commentators on this board, I think of Canada as a sweet, soft spoken older brother looking down lovingly from the North. Or at least I did until they started taking petty shots at one of Americas Favorite Sons. Fortunately, Conan was able to rise above but I'm not sure I'll be able to drink a Labatts without thinking twice for a long time.
Input by Andy at
11:02 AM
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Reviewing Makes the World Go 'Round
Article over at the New York Times looking at anonymous reviews on Amazon.com after the anonymity was negated on the Canadian version of the site. (OH CANADIA, WOT TUMULT THOU HAST INVOGUED!!!! (a phrase which I have just made up and hope to use more frequently when citing the wretches of Canada)).
Regular readers of this blog might find it a nice tie of New Media political anarchy and user review databases (from a few days ago).
Input by Mike at
2:24 PM
"Nothing Else Behaves Like Me"
From Thomas Oliphant of the Boston Globe (which has been used as a primary source in recent media quagmire):
"However, the impression fostered more in the press than in politics that the inevitable existence of questions and gaps permits inferences about the answers and about what might be in the gaps is... pernicious."
I can't promise that I am not going to lament New/Old Media relations over the next year, but I'll at least promise to possibly keep it limited.
Input by Mike at
11:06 AM
Only In America...
...and perhaps Canada and England and maybe Japan. A single line from an overrated song requires a company to clarify the correct way to use their product.
I just yearn for the days of Kodachrome. Which, of course, was about 12 years before I was born. Hey ya, indeed.
Input by Scot at
10:51 AM
Monday, February 16, 2004
i realize that i would be a more entertaining person if i were six inches shorter
Input by Mike at
9:35 PM
It's not so much an issue of who started what, but that it's already started.
I've been flipping through alternative news sources over the past couple days and have been appalled at the coverage. Watch them bitch about the coverage, instead of actually providing ideal coverage. This is what you have to look forward to.
Get ready for eight months of democracy eating itself.
Input by Mike at
1:13 AM
