Making Flippy Floppy

Only three this month (so far...) 50. Devo 2.0 - Devo 2.0 ($12.99, Target, CDA): I finally decided to get it, and worth every penny. I think some of these versions are livelier than the originals, and the accompanying DVD has a great segment where the orginal members of Devo tell cleaned up stories about the band's sordid history and the concept of de-evolution to the rather uninterested-looking teen menbers of Devo 2.0. 51. Stereolab - Fab Four Suture ($11.99, Hastings, CDA): I have purchased every Stereolab album since the beginning so why stop now? This one has a slightly different feel to it, but the 'lab is 'lab, and if it ain't broke... 52. Stereolab - Instant Zero In The Universe ($1.49 used, Amazon.com): For some reason I never purchased this Mini-LP from 2003 and it was the only hole in my otherwise complete Stereolab collection (not including singles, although I'm thinking of dabbling into that next...)

Who knew that tucked away in the dismal brown confines of the Sunset Mini-Mall on US95 in Coeur d'Alene there's a wonderful little Hawaiian restaurant called the Sunset Grill? Well, I didn't, at least not until Lou and I were driving up the slow highway and a sign popped out at me "Authentic Hawaiian BBQ". My tummy was growling, so those were suddenly the 3 most appetizing words I had ever heard. I've had everything from Ethiopian to Norwegian, but I had never dabbled in "authentic Hawaiian", so I wasn't sure what to expect. The place was clean and decorated like a back patio on a hot summers day, which is just what was needed on this cold, pissy, rainy day in March. The place is set up with huge, monolithic picnic tables constructed out of huge logs and with the ability to sit 20 people each. Some potted palm and various hanging Hawaiian frou-frou adds to the atmosphere, but the place is refreshingly fuss-free. We immediately spotted the buffet table but were told that was only on Fridays. (And, oh yes, we will be back for some of THAT all-you-can-eat action!) The menu options weren't huge - chicken, beef or pork; teriyaki or katsu. Quite a few dishes that were unfamiliar to me (again, can't wait to check out that buffet.) I didn't realize that Hawaiian cuisine had so many similarities to Japanese, but I guess that makes sense. We both opted for the Teriyaki Chicken ($5.99). Our waitress disappeared behind a flowery curtain for a few minutes and returned with huge styrofoam plates full of food. My god, there must have been the equivalent of over half a chicken on my plate, carefully deboned and coated in a thick brown Teriyaki glaze. This was the real deal. I wondered why I hadn't been given a knife, since the chicken pieces were huge, then I realized I didn't need one because the chicken was cooked so tender you could cut it with a fork or chopstick (Lou). The teriyaki flavor was just perfect, tangy and sweet and burnt to a subtle crispiness around the edges. The fact that the chicken was a bit fatty and gnarly in spots just added to the backyard BBQ charm of it all, like they just ripped up a chicken right there and threw it on the grill. Served with two heaping scoops of sticky rice and a scoop of their trademark macaroni/potato salad, it was almost more than I could finish. But I did, despite the leering gaze of Lou, who had finished ten minutes before myself and was still hungry. The Sunset Grill is a fun and delicious treat and I highly recommend a visit. Maybe I'll see you there for the Friday all-you-can-eat buffet... Sunset Grill 296. W Sunset Ave. Coeur d'Alene, ID 208-676-0123 Tues-Sat10A-9P

I just awoke from a most interesting and amazing dream. In it, I was at some type of large convention or gathering, the purpose of which I was never aware of. There were all kinds of different people just kind of mingling in a large room with some tables randomly set up and maybe a few plants here and there. Anyway, the setting is not that pertinent. The thing was, in this dream, I was extremely clairvoyant. I had the ability to look at someone and would immediately know everything about their entire lives, past and future, as well as previous lives. It was like I could turn on and off a tap of eternal knowledge that went straight to my brain, or awareness center. I could look at someone and see their entire aura. It wasn't really like in those glowy 80's photos or whatever, it was more like a strange bubble surrounding the person a few inches above their bodies, and it made them appear almost like aura mummies, with a dull, almost waxy sheen. From this strange aura, I could immediately tell how "holy" a person was. This "holiness" had nothing to do with the person's religion or how studied they were in it, in fact it wasn't anything they could control, it was kind of like they were just born with it, and this level of "holiness" affected their entire lives, and all the decisions they made, their general outlook etc. The ones that were really holy had a really gorgeous pale yellow glowing sheen to their aura, and some even appeared to have intricately carved crosses and flowers as part of it. On the opposite side, the unholiest folks had a thick, greenish-brown thing going on with no glow at all and their auras were all "choppy", I guess, making them kind of look like slimy, algae coated logs. There was a whole variety of different auras inbetween and they each had different interesting meanings and stories I could glean from just looking at the person. Thankfully, it was something I was able to turn on and off, because some people auras were too intense to deal with for very long, it was like they could "force" it on you if they wanted to. Also, I was able to communicate with people's dead relatives just like you see on the John Edwards show, or even better yet, Sylvia Browne on Montel. It was just like they describe, like a small, active crowd of spirits hovering around behind someone, kind of fighting for my attention and making hand gestures or silently mouthing words. I would describe to the people (living) what I was seeing and perceiving and looks of amazement and recognition would show on their faces. I could tell all about how they were related to the person, how they died, and a few small personal details. I was finding myself totally amazed at my own abilities in this dream, it was something like I had never experienced before and really intense. The thing is, after I awoke from it I began to wonder if in the dream, I had tapped that part of the human brain that true clairvoyants and psychics claim to be able to tap. Which leaves me wondering if I also have the ability to somehow tap that part of my brain while awake, and if so, how do I do it? It really feels now like I know how to do it, it just won't work anymore. I want it back so I can freak people out and make a few bucks doing it!

Here's the latest:

• Misty and Kris brought their new little girl, Ronin Kashe, into the world in classic black-and-white fashion as you can see by this amazing set of photos (nothing too graphique, promise.) Congratulations, parental units, on a happy and successful spawn.
• My lovely schoolmate Melanie waxes nostalgic about glorious Dick's Restaurant in Spokane on her blog Plaid Toaster here. Oh my gosh, I'm craving a whammy so bad I could drive all the way over there just to get one right now.
• Maybe some of you wonder what I do all day and night, squirreled away in front of the computer making little colored boxes and linky things. I'm getting work done, darn it, and here's proof - links to a few of my latest web design projects: Coeur d'Alene Land.Com AlliedFlag.Com DiscoverYourNorthIdaho.Com HomesNorthIdaho.Com I really need to pick up a few extra web design jobs, so if any of y'all have any good leads for such things, please don't hesitate to let me know.
• Wonder wot's the deal with Coeur d'Alene's latest "hot-spot" Club Pendulum so boldly announcing "gay pride" night, only to have all mentions of it mysteriously disappear from their truly annoying website after only one week, replaced by Karaoke. Methinks they couldn't stand the heat of potentially being labeled a "gay bar", which is truly pathetic. I think it would have been nice to have an occasional gathering place other than you-know-where, the other "gay bar" that really isn't. Too bad nobody showed up that first night to represent, as was the original plan. Pfffft...shame on everybody involved...
• Speaking of Karaoke, boo-hiss to Mik-n-Mac's for cancelling Karaoke on Mondays. Maybe it wasn't the busiest nights but us regulars always had a lot of fun and spent a lot (at least I did). They said they weren't bringing in enough cash to justify having it, but what did they expect? They never advertise karaoke, so how do they expect people to even know about it? It's frustrating since that bar makes its money on the weekends (hellacious meat market), they don't bother to do anything to promote the cool stuff that goes on there during the week. C'mon girls!
• Edge of Seventeen: They've been showing this flick on Logo and I can't figure out how I missed it the first time. What a fun, classic teen movie it is. It's like a gay John Hughes flick and the soundtrack is steeped in pure '80s retro kitsch. I love how the main character is a huge Eurythmics fan, and has Annie Lennox pix everywhere. He even hooks up with a cute DJ after they discover their mutual love for Eurythmics. Also, he makes experimantal electronic music in his bedroom using a wicked old Moog and a huge reel-to-reel. It's totally tubular.
• Yes, o yea. I just read they are opening a Panda Express restaurant here in Coeur d'Alene. Boy, are we really getting up there. Anyway, it'll be nice to have that kind of Asian fast food option at our disposal. Now, if we could only get those folks at Sonic to look our way.
• We came home late and the cat was panicky: her week-old kitten we not in their box and were nowhere to be found. We spent hours looking in every nook and cranny, quietly listening for feline murmurings or some kind of clue, but there was nothing. Did a catnapper come through? Did she eat them? We just couldn't figure it out! Exhausted, we gave up for the night, hoping that daylight would help turn up the missing babies. I woke up in the wee hours to a light thud and a loud little meow. Ling-ling, bless her, had somehow managed to claw her way up my hanging clothing to the toppermost shelf in my closet (which I have to get a chair to even reach) with her kids and had left them up there, apparently forgetting immediately. The light thud I heard was a poor kitten falling from the shelf onto the laundry below. The kitten seems ok, and I had to stuff that shelf with blankets to keep her from getting the idea again. What a crazy cat...

Next week I'll be doing the Flexible Records update for the month with free new music from three artists. I've got jailbird pop songstress Joy Alley, Ludwig's cut-and-paste breakbeats from Leeds, UK, and O-Phase from Portland, Oregon. O-phase's real identities remain mysterious, even to me. As usual, I stumbled across thier songs on MySpace and was instantly enraptured by the primal electronics warbling from my PC speakers. Thier music hits that early Mute Records part of the brain. It's a tribute (not a mimickry, maybe a mockery) of such electro-punk pioneers like The Normal or Fad Gadget, maybe with a dash of Eno-era Devo. The voice is wry and cutting, charmingly detactched. The music is lo-fi, occasionaly distant. O-Phase embody the spirit of the original New Wave Revolution and they pull it off with good humor. I am pleased to announce the release of thier Mini-LP "O is for Order" on Flexible Records. Look for it by Tue 3/14.