Glen Khaki Glen Ross

Hola Amigos,

Welcome to a new installment of "Lost In The Supermarket: Department Store Edition". Today's topic is work clothes. Let's face it: we spend half of our waking hours at work, so it's pretty important that the clothes we wear are comfortable. Sometimes I envy those people who can go to work in jeans and a t-shirt. Unfortunately, my job requires me to create an illusion of professionalism, so casual clothes are out of the picture. The worst part is that I have to wear a tie. I still don't understand how wearing a stupid piece of cloth around my neck is considered respectable, let alone functional. But let's move on.
I recently discovered the perfect pair of work pants: the Glen Khaki, by Dockers. I know what you're thinking: Dockers are for dorks. It's the go-to pant for style-impaired, middle-aged office workers. But Glen Khakis are different. Let's start with the fit. I've never had a better-fitting pair of slacks than these. They're comfy without being baggy. The flat front (as opposed to pleated) gives them a look that is casual yet stylish. As for the fabric, it is both soft and durable. Here's a true story: Last week I was riding my scooter to work while wearing my new pants. As I was making a turn in a parking lot, my scooter slid on a thin patch of ice and I crashed. I was going slow enough that neither the scooter nor my body was harmed in any significant way, but I was sure my pants would be torn from scraping the pavement. Not so. There was nary a scratch on my Glen Khakis. In fact, they probably saved my poor legs from a bad case of road rash. So there you have it: pants that can take a beating and still make me look good. What more could a guy ask for?

Got Hemp?

Hi folks,

Today's post is the first in a series of in-depth reviews of supermarket products. I'm calling it "Lost In The Supermarket", and it will be a recurring column in this blog. In the past I've written reviews of local restaurants, but I've decided that's sort of pointless since most of my readers don't even live in Seattle. Supermarket products, on the other hand, are available to everyone, everywhere. They're the great equalizer in American culture. With that in mind, let's get started with today's featured product.

I recently made the switch from regular milk to soy milk, mainly due to some lactose intolerance issues. Actually, "intolerance" is probably too harsh of a word, since I can eat cheese and ice cream without any problem; it's mainly milk that sends me to the crapper. Perhaps a better term would be "lactose prejudiced". Anyway, everything's been just peachy since I made the switch. So imagine my delight when I found Hemp Dream on the shelf of the neighborhood grocery store. The concept is similar to soy milk, except that hemp seed is used as the base. I knew that clothing and other textiles could be made of hemp, and I'd seen hemp granola before, but hemp milk? I had to try it.

The packaging is great: the tie-dye colors make an obvious effort to appeal to the, uh, mellower segment of supermarket shoppers. The name alone suggests some sort of euphoric bliss. But that's where the party ends, folks. After drinking a glass of the stuff, I am sad to say that it tasted bitter and unpleasant. I ruined a perfectly decent bowl of cereal with it. And the worst part is, I felt totally sober afterwards. This is not a product that I can recommend to my readers, even those who normally enjoy hemp products. It's a bad trip, man.

1 + 1 = 3

Dear readers, I have some exciting news to share: Mr. and Mrs. Concord are expecting a baby! How crazy is that? Both of us are super excited, but also a bit stunned by the idea of bringing a new life into the world. It's strange to think that this sort of thing happens all the time, all over the world, and yet it's so incredible when it happens to you. Lots of questions fill my mind: What will the baby look like? What kind of adult will this child grow up to be? Will he/she fully appreciate the wondrous flavor of Concord grapes? I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that last question.

We learned the news two months ago, and we've told most of you already. The early pregnancy symptoms were rough: constant nausea, weird food cravings at odd hours of the night, unpredictable mood swings...and that was just me. But seriously, Cindy has had to put up with a lot during these past couple of months, and I'll always be grateful for her strength and perseverance. I mean, she's building a human being for chrissakes!
I can only imagine how our lives will change after the baby is born. We probably won't be going to very many rock shows or fancy restaurants. I might not blog as often as I do now (which is already pretty infrequent). I'll probably be sleep-deprived on a regular basis. But I'm looking forward to my new life as a father. Wish me luck!

Bloggers and Joggers

Happy New Year! I hope everyone out there had a safe and festive New Year's Eve. Cindy and I celebrated at a house party hosted by our friends Jenny and Greg. While most folks spent Dec 31 gearing up for a night of drinking and partying, our friend Nic was busting his ass running the Last Chance Marathon in Bellingham, Washington. As you may recall from a post I wrote a few weeks ago, Nic is running a series of 13 marathons to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. That's him to the left, wearing a Concords Are Better t-shirt on the day of the race (yes, we bribed him with a donation to his charity). So far Nic has run six marathons, and there's still time for you to donate to this worthy cause. Check out his blog for more info.

Speaking of which, there's also time to support my friend Trevor's upcoming triathalon. All he's asking is for you to sign up for the National Bone Marrow Registry. He still needs a lot of people to sign up in order to meet his goal of 100 new donors, so head on over to his blog right now!

Since I'm plugging my friends' blogs, I should also tell you about Quest For Manuka. This is a blog by my friend Chris (the same guy who's in the Netflix competition I wrote about a few posts back), and recently he's taken on the gargantuan task of listing his top 50 favorite albums of all time. I'm kicking myself for not thinking of such a brilliant idea first. It's a pretty damn entertaining read, and you should take a look.

This week's song is by MGMT. I don't know much about them, but I found this song on the web and it's catchy: