A Day in the Life
My day yesterday was good. How good was it, you ask? Read on:
I went to Oskaloosa to meet Kyle and play
Disc Golf in Edmundson Park (6)
I actually played pretty well, and so did Kyle. Plus, it's nice to get out and play, something I've been neglecting lately. Unfortunately, the entire park was taken over by middle school cross country runners or something of the sort. In any case, we were only able to play about seven holes.
Then we went out to eat with this woman that Kyle works with at
El Charro (7)
Good Mexican food. The El Charro Special was excellent. Basically like fajitas plus enchilada, both well done. Be wary of special ordering, though. Everyone else at the table ordered without guacamole, but when there meals arrived, we all had guacamole. Also, their margaritas are very potent, which could be a plus or a minus depending on the circumstances.
Later we went out for dessert, and I got a
Dutch Letter Avalanche (8)
I'm not sure if they have dutch letters everywhere, but they're flaky pastries with this maple filling, and they're a staple of Pella, which prides itself on being Dutch but is mostly just weird. The ice cream place there (whose name is unpronounceable) makes avalanches (like flurries or blizzards or whatever you call blended ice cream treats) with dutch letters among other things. It was actually pretty good. You get a little bit of the flaky crust for texture, but the good maple filling. Yum.
Then we went back to Kyle's place and watched
Layer Cake (8)
This was a difficult movie to follow. Like many British films, I think, the dialog was mixed low. Since we watched it in an apartment, it was very soft, making some of the conversations hard to follow. The film itself is not exactly straight-forward either. It was good, from its weird start to its weirder finish. I wasn't sure Matt Vaughn would be all right without Guy Richie, but it comes off pretty slick.
On the way home, I tried to stay awake by listening to
OK Go: Oh No (9)
This is such a fun album to listen to. They manage to make even more of the songs good without making the songs sound the same. It sounds like their first album without being redundant. Very clever stuff. It's like they've figured out how to write the perfect pop song, but rather than taking it to new experimental heights, they are content to simply make a lot of really great songs.
and
The New Pornographers: Twin Cinema (8)
This album deserves more than one listen. It's not as immediately listenable as Mass Romantic or Electric Version. I thought AC Newman's album Slow Wonder was a tangent of the New Pornographers sound, but you can really hear a progression from that album to this one. It's really a good album, but definitely more complex than Electric Version.
and
Decemberists: Picaresque (8)
These are some excellent songs. As much as I like Her Majesty, this may be even better. It's like watching a lot of really good movies with only the good parts left in. They can weave these great story songs that are both clever and affecting.
Then I got home. Not bad for 10 hours of my life.
I went to Oskaloosa to meet Kyle and play
Disc Golf in Edmundson Park (6)
I actually played pretty well, and so did Kyle. Plus, it's nice to get out and play, something I've been neglecting lately. Unfortunately, the entire park was taken over by middle school cross country runners or something of the sort. In any case, we were only able to play about seven holes.
Then we went out to eat with this woman that Kyle works with at
El Charro (7)
Good Mexican food. The El Charro Special was excellent. Basically like fajitas plus enchilada, both well done. Be wary of special ordering, though. Everyone else at the table ordered without guacamole, but when there meals arrived, we all had guacamole. Also, their margaritas are very potent, which could be a plus or a minus depending on the circumstances.
Later we went out for dessert, and I got a
Dutch Letter Avalanche (8)
I'm not sure if they have dutch letters everywhere, but they're flaky pastries with this maple filling, and they're a staple of Pella, which prides itself on being Dutch but is mostly just weird. The ice cream place there (whose name is unpronounceable) makes avalanches (like flurries or blizzards or whatever you call blended ice cream treats) with dutch letters among other things. It was actually pretty good. You get a little bit of the flaky crust for texture, but the good maple filling. Yum.
Then we went back to Kyle's place and watched
Layer Cake (8)
This was a difficult movie to follow. Like many British films, I think, the dialog was mixed low. Since we watched it in an apartment, it was very soft, making some of the conversations hard to follow. The film itself is not exactly straight-forward either. It was good, from its weird start to its weirder finish. I wasn't sure Matt Vaughn would be all right without Guy Richie, but it comes off pretty slick.
On the way home, I tried to stay awake by listening to
OK Go: Oh No (9)
This is such a fun album to listen to. They manage to make even more of the songs good without making the songs sound the same. It sounds like their first album without being redundant. Very clever stuff. It's like they've figured out how to write the perfect pop song, but rather than taking it to new experimental heights, they are content to simply make a lot of really great songs.
and
The New Pornographers: Twin Cinema (8)
This album deserves more than one listen. It's not as immediately listenable as Mass Romantic or Electric Version. I thought AC Newman's album Slow Wonder was a tangent of the New Pornographers sound, but you can really hear a progression from that album to this one. It's really a good album, but definitely more complex than Electric Version.
and
Decemberists: Picaresque (8)
These are some excellent songs. As much as I like Her Majesty, this may be even better. It's like watching a lot of really good movies with only the good parts left in. They can weave these great story songs that are both clever and affecting.
Then I got home. Not bad for 10 hours of my life.