Skip Loves Tai Shan

Due to my recently resuscitated cold-flu hybrid I've been a little slow on the uptake and very slow to realize the gem of a blog entry sitting in my email inbox. So, this is kind of old news, but I promise you have never seen anything as adorable in your entire life as Tai Shan, the 16-week old panda, learning to walk...

Melancholy Skip

Today is a very sad day. This moment is heavy with bereavement and pregnant with deferential pause because this morning Chris Whitley died. He was one of my most beloved musicians, so incredibly and uniquely talented blending Blues and Jazz and Rock into mellifluous and saddening songs consuming you in their prose.

I shall play 'Serve You' in his honor.

Ingenuity

For several years now I have been boycotting the Google Search (and most things Google to tell you the truth...gmail be damned), partly because I enjoy being non-conformist--that episode with the Uggs was a temporary lapse in judgement--and mostly as a personal show of solidarity (long story). I have been loyal to Yahoo! Search instead and, frankly, find it quite lovely and perfectly adequate for my world wide web-searching needs.

Until now.

I am at a cross-roads in my arbitrary abolishment of Googledom for they have created the most ingenious Google SMS search. This is pure gold, people! A value-add invention that makes it possible to essentially text message 'information' while at the same time putting a nail in the coffin of costly calls to 411 (and my arch-nemisis, SBC). You simply text G-O-O-G-L-E (466453) what you would like to know, local business listings, movie times, weather, etc. and it immediately texts you back locations, phone numbers, times and temperatures.

Eeeeeks! I love it!

Live from NYC

Oh. My.

It's finally here.

Forget my most recently developed obsession with New York, I'm heading to India for the Candybar RAZR (otherwise known as the SLVR for those gadget dorks like myself).

Skip Stays Warm

Anyone who has been around me for more than a few hours can attest to my faulty internal heating system. Regardless of the outside temperature, I am some level of cold (typically a touch to my nose will give away the severity of the condition). As a result, I must bulk up in my office with heavy sweaters and furry coats eliciting stares from Gap Cafe cashiers and my chic meeting mates.

But, Friends! No more will I suffer the cold in such an unfashionable way! Thanks to some clever Japanese (men, no doubt) I can subtly warm my core with the Warmbiz Bra. Brilliant.

PS- It's also eco-friendly!

Sweatsedo

I truly wish I were the person to have created the 'Sweatsedo; the Tuxedo of Sweatsuits.' It is amazing. Now you too can dress like K-Fed or, more impressively, Ali G in the Doo Doo Hoodie embroidered with your very own narcissistic moniker.

Mine will read 'Button.'

At Sweatsedo.

Signs of Greatness

Only in a country as great as the United States can you have stamps made with your face on them.

At Zazzle.

Skip Knows a Guy

This is my neighbor, Jason. He grew a moustache so that he could wear this wig and be that guy.

How is he not the coolest person ever?

Sentimental Skip

Being single probably makes me ill-equipped to comment on marriage (and divorce). However, ignorance has never stopped me from forcing my opinions in the past so I'm not sure why I would stop now.

I don't presume that many people get married with the intent of getting divorced (unless they really like getting presents, but that seems quite an expensive way to get a waffle-maker and crystal wine goblets). Yet, as misanthropists among us like to opine about 50% of these marriages, even romantics must admit that some couples just don't make it through the battle...they just battle.

For those folks they can find some anger relief by melting down their wedding ring into a bullet.

Seriously. Goddammo.

I'm not sure who decided this would provide the ultimate revanche, but I'm a little disturbed by the sentiment.

Happy Birthday

...to us!

Barndivine

I cannot stress enough the urgency with which you must bound to the restaurant Barndiva in Healdsburg, CA.

Last Sunday I had the incomparable pleasure to lounge lazily at the restaurant; sipping champagne and dining on delicious food in the amber sun, chatting with the dearest people in the world to me, my Fabs and Edward, and all the while being entertained and doted on by owner, Lukka. Everything about the experience was perfect; the moment crystallized in my mind as four matchless hours to be extracted from my life and bronzed (perhaps minus the feeling of being about to burst from overconsumption).

I will be returning this weekend.

True Talent

Despite incessant singalongs in the car and interminable renditions of 'The Old Grey Mare' and 'Heart & Soul' on the piano, I will admit that I have no musical talent whatsoever, which is likely why I show such deference to musicians from all walks of life and singers at every level on the annoyance scale. They have a talent which I completely lack.

Now, I would like to add Michael 'The Destroyer' Heffels to this gifted set. He represents the uncelebrated talent in the musical industry as the 2005 Air Guitar Champion. I cannot identify with certainty what incredibly rare talent he had to possess to become the World Champion; however, I am fairly confident that I cannot compete in this arena either.

I'll just have to buy the t-shirt.

Found It

Finally! After years of tormented searching I found exactly what I was looking for at a quaint little store in Monterey, CA; John Denver photos! Whew!

Skip Doesn't Like the Odds

I will gladly confess to knowing nothing about earthquake predictability, but part of me thinks that the so-called 'experts' should be able to do better than a '25 percent probability that the next big earthquake with a magnitude of 7 will occur on the San Andreas Fault within 150 miles of San Francisco sometime during the next 20 years.' Cool. It also might rain somewhere on the West Coast in the next 2 months.

I am not impressed.

Article at SFGate.com.

Skip Cares About What You Think

Not that anyone else's opinion matters, but if you do want to involve other people in any kind of decision-making or survey (i.e. where to go for dinner, the best concert venue, who's cooler John Cusack or Bill Murray) you can create a Snap Poll for your audience. It's fabulous.

Bluegrass Festival

Sundays don't get much more perfect than listening to soothing bluegrass music with friends in Golden Gate Park.

Match Made in Heaven; Part I

Much like 'Beyond Tanning & Video' in Metro-Lex, Virginia, the pairing of sushi with fish n' chips is pure genius.

Route 89, Placerville, CA.

Skip's Politically Correct

Just a little Friday giggle for you...The oldie but goodie, 'The Singhsons.'

Dorm Room Decor Matures

Those who consider rock posters adolescent are clearly oblivious to the imaginative, often gossamer and intriguing creations I have seen.

The budding business of concert posters as art has made for some impressive posters that would shame any 'Nirvana 1991 Tour' poster and, in limited printings, they won't be seen in every home around (unlike the ubiquitous vintage Euro ads). In fact, these artistic iterations would look grand in my modern, urban, organic apartment. Or something.

Concert posters at Option-G, The Heads of State and The Small Stakes.

Skip Fell For It

Well, it turns out that my doubts about the verity of the Hurricane Katrina pics were warranted! An alert reader, Tara 'Junior Mythbuster' Hillier (her self-imposed title I might add), sent in an explanation of the photographs from my 'Katrina' entry. Apparently, they are not even snaps of a hurricane but rather capture the phenomenon of supercell thunderstorms taken in 2004.

The following images are dramatic and real but mislabeled. They are not photographs of Hurricane Katrina nor is this the first time they have circulated under false pretenses. In May 2005 they made the rounds labeled as a storm near Bunbury [Australia] and in July and August they were forwarded as pictures of storms in various parts of Canada. Storm chaser and photographer Mike Hollingshead, to whom the photos have been attributed, confirmed taking them (most can be found on this page on his Web site). They actually document various supercell thunderstorms, tornados, and other meteorological phenomena Hollingshead observed in 2004.

I have a few thoughts on this; (1) Whoever named this type of storm deserves a medal. It's like a superhero weapon storm, a HALO storm even. (2) Seriously, Hurricane Katrina or not, the images are still absolutely remarkable. We should give credit where credit is due. Excellent work, Mother Nature.

Invisible Shield

In the world of iPod protective coverings, there are very few that make the cut. Most are too bulky, too sticky or too ugly to even consider swathing over your iPod. If only there was something strong, thin and invisible...

Someone has heard my cries!

And, if I were an Apple Nano, I would surely want such an Invisible Shield.

The Power of Nature

I am in shock and in awe of these photos of Hurricane Katrina (courtesy of my 'roommate'). A tiny part of me thinks they are fake...

Skip's Speech

In case you haven't already figured it out, I absolutely adore words. All words, every word. No words are free from my smothering enthusiasm; corpulent words, small and fruity words, flowery and excessive words, those both sinister and seraphic, and most importantly, words that give the impression that I am more intelligent than I actually am. I think today's 'Word of the Day' will fit nicely into the latter category.

immure \ih-MYUR\, transitive verb: 1. To enclose within walls, or as if within walls; hence, to shut up; to imprison; to incarcerate. 2. To build into a wall. 3. To entomb in a wall.

I love it. 'Word of the Day' at Dictionary.com.

Music Video

Oh my. You simply must watch this animated music video of He-Man singing a Four Non-Blondes cover song. Trust me. You may lose some brain cells but it is well worth your 2 minutes.

When you are done laughing, you can thank my friend Mike 'Collars Up' Crittenden.

Smooth Skip

As much as Gillette marketers may try to differentiate razor gender by prettily packaging the wimpy girl version in pink, I have no desire to color coordinate my razor to my 'chintz n' printz.' Thanks, but no thanks. I'd much rather have the Mach 3 which is ten times the razor the Venus is...and now, I will once again defy marketing attempts by immediately purchasing the Gillette Fusion with FIVE blades!!

Bring it on. February 2006.

The Real Question

Who wouldn't want to live in California?

Movie Time

Yes! I want a DVD Movie Projector! You bring the popcorn.

Optoma DV10. A steal at $1,499.

Skip is in Love

If you haven't already heard of the Apple Nano, then I strongly urge you crawl out of the hole in the ground in which you live and fall in love with it like the rest of the planet. But, even if you are already obsessed with the Nano you still may not know about the company that designed it...with which I am now obsessed.

Frog Design is a product design, marketing and brand strategy company that has clients ranging from Apple to Dell to Tupperware and Disney. The company has created not only the Nano, but also Lufthansa's airline terminal, Microsoft's Windows XP brand identity and the sounds Apple computers play when you get a new email or do something stupid.

Honestly, how cool would it be to work on noises computers make?!?! I really want to work for Frog Design.

A Man After Skip's Heart

Recently I consumed a burrito that was the size and density of an iron brick. Ever since then, I have felt the need to share my gastronomical discomfort with everyone I see. (Misery loves company after all.) Never was I so thankful for my talent for boring, pointless anecdotes than when I relayed this fascinating story to the ever-funny JJ. He directed me to an alarming and absorbing website that covers the San Francisco 'burrito scene,' ranking each Mexican (meat) loaf on a mustache scale and providing links to each establishment's record of health code violations. It's awesome.

Burrito Eater.

Opera in the Park

This afternoon was spent lazily lounging in Golden Gate Park listening to the dulcet sounds of the San Francisco Opera. Now, I'm more of a symphony girl myself, but with the sun shining and a picnic fit for a queen, I think I could have slept to the opera in the park forever.