Concords Across America

Hey there,
Cindy and I are in Berkeley right now. We're having a great time hanging out in my old 'hood, and you can read all about it in Cindy's blog post. You should check it out. I'm not going to give anything away, but I will whet your appetite with these four magic words: monkey in a stroller. Alright, now on to business...
As I mentioned in a previous post, my friend Michael has taken on the noble task of promoting Concords Are Better around the DC area. Take a look at these fantastic photos:





What can I say...my eyes are filled with tears. My favorite picture is the one where Michael is posing next to the Angry Old Republican Guy. If that guy can overcome his prejudices and give Concords a chance, then there is hope for this country. And check out that picture of Michael in front of the White House; if the Obamas decide to plant Concords in their new garden, I will be able to die a happy man.
Michael and his wife Sarah will be driving from DC to Seattle next month, and I'm sure he'll be spreading the word of Concords to people across the nation. Lookout, Wichita, the Concords Across America campaign has just begun!

Postcard from New York

Mr. and Mrs. Concord spent a few days in New York City last week. It was a great trip, made even better by our wonderful hostess Sheila. We explored cool neighborhoods, went to museums, and ate some great meals. We even met a freegan! I would almost say it was the perfect mini-vacation, except for one thing: I failed to find the perfect pastrami sandwich.

One of my complaints about living in Seattle is the lack of decent sandwiches, especially pastrami. I don't mean run-of-the-mill, stringy, supermarket-quality pastrami; you can find that shit anywhere. I'm talking about savory, thick-sliced, melt-in-your-mouth pastrami, the kind that can only be found in an authentic Jewish deli. One of the few places I've experienced this stuff is in New York City, so I made it clear to everyone that my one goal during our visit was to find said sandwich. A plan was made to go to the legendary 2nd Avenue Deli on the next-to-last day of the trip; in fact, the whole day was planned around this event. As luck would have it, we spent too much time at MoMA and had to postpone the quest until our last day. No problem, I thought- we weren't leaving until 2pm, so we could still go to the deli for an early lunch and then head straight for the airport. This is where things started to go horribly wrong.

NYC was hit with a snowstorm that day. Undaunted by the weather, we packed our bags and trudged through the slushy mess toward the subway station. While we were on the subway, the conductor announced that our stop was closed, so we had to get off on a different stop and walk several blocks, dragging our luggage through the snow. When we finally arrived at the address, the deli was nowhere to be found. I had been using an old guidebook, and the deli had since moved to a different location. It seemed as though some divine force was determined to prevent me from having my pastrami sandwich. Anyway, we had a plane to catch, so we settled for a quick bite at a coffee shop and took a cab to Penn Station. The cab sped through countless city blocks and then took a left turn down a small side street. I gazed through the frost-covered window as we passed by an image that would forever be burned into my memory: the 2nd Avenue Deli! The damn place was taunting me even as we were leaving the city. Alas, the sandwich of my dreams had eluded me once again.

One final note: our flight was cancelled, so I had to sit, pastrami-less, for several hours in the Newark airport with the knowledge that I could've had my sandwich after all.

The Reader

It's been almost three weeks since I last posted, and I must admit that I feel a little guilty for neglecting my faithful readers. I can only imagine your disappointment when you check back on Concords Are Better every day, only to find the same old post sitting there from last month. It's like waiting for a package that never arrives, a package that was supposed to be filled with magic and sunshine. Well, I have the solution to your problem: Google Reader. For those of you who don't already know about this wonderful tool, let me explain. Google Reader is built into your Gmail account (which I assume you have), and it keeps tabs on all of your favorite blogs. It does the same thing for websites that post frequently via RSS feeds. One of my favorite comic strips, Monty, is available by RSS feed, meaning that I get a new comic every morning in my Google Reader. So how does this help you? If you use it, you don't have to keep checking back on all of your favorite blogs; Google Reader will tell you when a new post appears. The only downside is that it does not show any of those soundclips that I post from time to time (actually, that may be a bonus for some of you), nor does it show any comments. But you can easily click over to the original blog site if you want to see those. Surfing the web has never been easier.
Before I go, I want to draw your attention to the picture above. That's Concord fan Michael standing on the steps of the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., wearing his Concords Are Better t-shirt. He has been on a mission to spread the gospel of Concords Are Better to the people of our nation. Michael, you are an honorable man, and a great American.

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: