road mix
Belle & Sebastian - Your Covers Blown
Big Pun - Not a Playa
Elvis Presley - Fever
Foreigner - Jukebox Hero
Frank Sinatra - That's Life
The Mama's & The Papa's - I Saw Her Again Last Night
Brother Ali - Self Taught
Two Gallants - Miss Meri
The Band - Ophelia
A Tribe Called Quest - Common Ground (Get it Goin On)
red state blues
By the time we stopped for dinner and actually did have a fearful backwoods experience we were too delirious to think. Our plans for a post-dinner stroll were squashed when things weren't what they seemed. The park across the road was actually someone's yard, and before we could readjust our plans, an oncoming vehicle slowed down to stir up a little conversation. We swiftly acted on instinct and fled from the scary scene certain the strangers intentions were anything less than honorable. We returned to the parking lot to recount the encounter and twist it into a horrible joke and another reason to hate on Florida. All in all, our stop at McLain's Family Steakhouse was like a B-rated horror flick.
Drive-By Truckers - Outfit
Paul Simon - Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall
pass the salsa
over the mountains and down the thruway
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Holiday Highlights:
- I gave my Grandmother the new Jens Lekman CD, and she LOVES it.
- Hilarious stress-induced kitchen banter.
- Lots and lots of wine.
- Loving my family and all that stuff.
- Ridiculous amounts of amazing food.
- The best Christmas gift I've gotten in at least four years: a sweet record player! Proof that moving away makes your parents love you more. Oh, small doses.
Jens Lekman - Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo
Feist - It's Cool to Love Your Family
The Band - Christmas Must Be Tonight
a few of my favorite things
I guess I'm of the fortunate few who absolutely love where they grew up. Each time I come home, I find myself increasingly appreciative of the refreshing familiarity of it all. It's the kind of town where you'll likely run into someone you know each time you leave the house, and I guess that's a factor that drove me to larger ponds, so to speak, but the Cheers-effect does warm your heart a little when you're not used to it. I ran into my neighbor Chris the other day at The Bistro whom I hadn't seen in at least ten years. Impromptu reunions add a nice little accent to the holidays and are inevitably common place in a town like NP thats main commerce area encompasses only about 5 city blocks.
While I'm surely biased with sentimentality, some of my favorite places of all time are New Paltz staples, which I've definitely been taking advantage of as frequently as possible in this short stay home. The following are the best of the best, in my book.
Bacchus - By far the best selection of brews in town and a very calm setting. It's like a little cabin for drunkards.
The Bistro - I can't even count how many mornings I've spent waiting for a table. No regrets. My favorites are the Tofu Tomorrow and The Hurricane. Amazing.
Rhino Records - I used to peruse the used section weekly after cashing my paycheck from my high school job at TCBY. I can still waste hours in there, so many treasures to be found.
Hokkaido - Aside from the sushi I had in St. Thomas, this may be the most consistently amazing sushi I've experienced yet.
Artcraft Camera - After bringing prints to two different shops in Austin that were unable to fulfill my request in a timely and cost-effective manner, artcraft got my shit done right in an hour. Love them. I've been there everyday since I got home.
