even without leaves
1. So seriously, my job revolves around food. This morning a large (1′ x 1.5′) Christmas tin arrived full of imported goodies from Nürnburg, Germany. Lots of gingerbread cookies, some with chocolate frosting, and these little dark chocolate cubes with marzipan and caramel in their centers… Among other things.
Andreas treated Bret and myself to lunch today at Elizabeth’s, a fantastic little Italian place near Kernersville. Kind of a family operation, and great atmosphere. Allegedly (I heavily doubt this), according to Andreas, the kitchen staff of the restaurant are all genuine Italians that are flown over from Italy for three months and then have to return again when their work visas expire, at which point the restaurant owners fly in another group, and so on. Whatever the case, the food certainly tasted the part. They brought us a free appetizer of sun-dried tomatoes and an assortment of cheeses melted over toasted Italian bread, dipped in olive oil. Sublime. And then I ate what I can honestly describe as the best stromboli I have ever had, bar none, while Bret and Andreas had soups and salads. We were even treated to tiramisu for dessert, which ended up being kind of a hybrid affair, but amazingly good–a sort of cheesecake concoction (though it didn’t have the nasty tang of cheesecake–just its consistency) draped by a more crumbly, chocolate layer and laced with a dark chocolate sauce. I had no words. So good. Needless to say the restaurant definitely earned its way into my mental rolodex as an excellent date location.
2. Funny article from one of the best automotive journalists out there: Jeremy Clarkson. The car under review (a rather tepid Lexus RX300) is really only incidental to Clarkson’s rantings, and this passage (among others) made me laugh aloud:
So why not buy a car instead? It’ll be faster, more comfortable, and will do more than 23mpg. What’s more it’ll be the GS300, which is as cool as they come, the chilliest model in the Lexus line-up. Nirvana for P Diddy, ambrosia for 50 Cent (or 28p, as I call him, to annoy my kids).
3. A great post on biblical inerrancy. The author has a way of making some rather abstract theological concepts seem very lucid and down-to-earth.
4. Did some Christmas shopping earlier. I splurged and bought myself a cd, the first in several months. I purchased the Hooverphonic album The Magnificent Tree. Absolutely brilliant stuff. I’ve never had any hesitation including this band in my top five. Here’s the title track (will be yanked in a day or so). This is their third full-length album, and it shows. The music finally has a overlapping depth miles away from the straightfoward, monothematic (though promising) songs on their first two albums. The musical texture is distinctly European but doesn’t suffer for it–they manage to infuse a welcome amount of warmth into their heavily-processed, synthetic sound without losing the flavor of the cities, the din of the nightlife and the cosmopolitan old-worldness intrinsic to life and love and everything else on that continent.
The lyrics have always appealed to me as well for their ambiguous, free-association nature. Most of the songs contain collections, snippets of sentences and couplets of adjectives and nouns that weave in and out of the musical layers, suggesting images, raw material for your mind to do with as it wants, rather than foisting upon you a fully fledged novella or some self-conscious treatise on “life.” That kind of lyrical postmodernism reinforces the European feel of the music, reflecting the prevailing philosophical mindset, utilizing it for the purposes of conveying musical themes and generating interest without (in my view) overtly endorsing the resultant worldview. It’s a question of scale–to me postmodern art and music is fascinating, and while I realize ideas have consequences in the macrocosm of realms like ethics and politics, if one is discerning enough to keep those ideas relegated to the artistic/academic level, the potential complexity of the concepts and ideas conveyed, to me, is compelling in so many ways. I’m all fine and good with creating my own reality as long as I realize it’s just an exercise.
My only comment is on Elizabeth’s… I haven’t been to the one in Kernersville, but there is one across from the mall in the same shopping center as Toys ‘Я Us, and it is fab-u-lous! And I’m not saying that because it’s named after me! ; ) The dough they use for their Stromboli’s (and the like) is indescribably wonderful. The staff is DEFINITELY very authentically Italian, but I don’t know about the three month limit.
Two thumbs up on the date location, Italian alone is always romantic (Lady and the Tramp comes to mind… awwww), but Italian food done the way it is at Elizabeth’s… That’s the extra step that impresses the ladies!
Hooverphonic
great stuff….I am off to find this album…I was wanting some new tunes!
Speaking of Jeremy Clarkson…
…you’ve got to read this one. I read the first one you posted, noticed a nice little drop down menu, and started reading the rest of his reviews. Well ok, not *all* of them, but just the ones on cars that caught my interest or that i wanted to learn more about. This one made me laugh out loud several times (which, as you know, it’s the easiest thing to make me do). It’s great…especially his reference to America as “the Land of the Stomach.” A must read.
The link: http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,12529-1235587,00.html
Re: Speaking of Jeremy Clarkson…
(i meant to write “isn’t the easiest thing to make me do…) sorry.
Re: Speaking of Jeremy Clarkson…
And what does he say about the Viper?? To quote: “It is the concept of hedonism made real.”
(Yup, still reading… ;)
Apparently he has a love-hate relationships with all American made sports cars. The C6, the Mustang, the Viper…he can’t stand them, but loves them at the same time. I guess we Americans are kind of like that in general, eh? ;)
We should definitely get a group together for an evening outing, maybe sometime in the new year… Good stuff.
Glad you like it :) As I mentioned at dinner on Saturday, I’d really recommend their previous album for starters–it’s the one I purchased first and initially sold me on the band: Blue Wonder Power Milk.
I think I’ve pored through about 75% of those reviews… The C6 one was great; you’re right. The Ariel Atom and BMW M5 ones are pretty good too :)
Great to see you this weekend, John. Thanks for the ride in the ‘7–it’s honestly one of the most “complete” machines I’ve been in. It really can do it all (or everything that matters anyhow), and do it very well.
I’ll get you that contact info for the job possibility as soon as I can.
Definitely! And I asked a friend (who’s eaten at both the K-ville and W-S locations), he said they’re relatively equivalent as far as the “having no words” when it comes to the food is concerned. Once the hellacious mall traffic has dispersed we should have a clear shot to Hanes Mall… Or we could always check out yours. I’m not too familiar with Kernersville… I just know you can get to it going west of Business 40 or South on 311… which confuses the snot outta me! But that’s neither here nor there (or maybe it’s both)…
Oh, and I’ve got the inside scoop about the “three month” rumor… I’ll share sometime! It’s not quite like you heard, but awfully close (in at least some respects)!
Then i’ll just have to check out those as well. I seem to have more spare time these days (what with no school and all), but the holiday season is in full swing with this person’s party, then that person’s party, doing a pre-Christmas Christmas with Kristi’s dad, Daniel’s b-day party tonight… These past few day’s i’ve spent sleeping in, running errands for decorations for above mentioned parties, shopping for gifts and groceries, attending said parties, and going to bed way too late so that i end up sleeping in again and repeating the whole cycle. Then there’s the Dec 27 trip to Kansas City and all that, then classes start up once again. So not really much in the way of free time…more like being busy with things other than school. It’s not much, but i’ll certainly take it as opposed to the alternative.
Yeah, i think i’m pretty much done with the 7…at least for now. It’s right where i want it for the moment. I still look forward to being able to promote it to ‘pure track car’ status…but then i wouldn’t get to drive it every day, which i still look forward to anytime i think about it. Just cant wait for an excuse to go somewhere. Thanks for the compliment…it means a lot coming from you. I’d still love for you to drive it and experience it for yourself, but oh well. You’ll get your chance. ;)
Any info would be appreciated. I don’t know if i could persuade Kristi to move out of the area (unless it were overseas), but right now i’m in need of options.