d'oh, that catamaran ferry link was supposed to go here

but first: OMG CATAMARAN FERRY

The pics are all here. I mean, we just went crazy with what I called "Tribal Enthusiasm" at the basketball game. In a book I read earlier this summer, they mentioned this phenomenon at modern sporting games, but like most people who only ever watched games at home (or at college, where they mainly depend on the actual students for any kind of entertainment), I never realized just how loud and crazy it would get. Reg was pouty b/c he's in it for the sports, and at least basketball can keep your attention if you actually do want to watch it, but the dancing girls and contests and catapulting ushers really made it.

Of course it didn't hurt at all that Reg's dad, the man with the whole reason we were going, had won a box suite by donating to poor hungry children. The room resembled a hotel room with more seating and fewer beds. 2 TVs and a boom box, though. Sid and I arrived

first and just kept jumping up and down at how pimped out everything seemed. You couldn't order food in less than 12-person quantities, except for the booze that is. As no one was going to agree I voted for Mike's Hard Lemonade, and an order of hot dogs and potato chips. This worked quite well till Reg's parents arrived (I would say dead last, but Sean and Ang won that victory.)

And to top it all off, it was actually quite a close game, but the Supersonics pulled it off. I had forgotten how annoying the last quarter can be, with everyone using up their fouls and timeouts to prolong the agony of defeat. Or trying to win, whatever. Took lots of bathroom breaks (the suite had its own bathroom in addition to everything else) and jumped and screamed a lot. "Why's that guy got his white socks pulled up to his knees? Does he have an offensive tattoo?"

So yeah, we won, and then we drove out to Goldie's on Airport Way, where many of the karaoke krue had already arrived, but jesus christ was the place crowded that night. I mean like woah. It took 90 minutes for my name to be called. After that I was feeling really annoyed and sat by myself to calm down. During this process a cute butch girl tried to talk to me, which was amusing. So we took Sid home and watched a couple hours of Family Guy.

Apparently all the flailing about during the game and karaoke injured my shoulder. I moved very little this weekend, apart from cashing my paycheck. In front of me at the bank was a weird sketchy veteran type guy who was trying to exchange a possibly counterfeit shredded $20 bill for a real one, and it wasn't going very well. He ended up writing a letter to the president of Wells-Fargo and bringing his business to Bank of America. At least, that was what he said he was going to do, but who knows.

Originally posted on herbaliser.vox.com

happy birthday to assorted people over the past week! dizzamn!

one of the scariest things about including the videos for Beavis&Butthead is the amount of Sub Pop videos from bands I've never heard of. Ah 1993, you are so far away. (good.)



on a cheerier note, I've decided that I will now use the term "degenerate" rather than "hipster" to describe my peers. The ones I like, anyway.

I grew up liking battered fried catfish, and still eat it occasionally when I go home. White flakey fish is what I recall best, and I recall it being unavailable after about 1984 or so. When Reg and I had a Valentine's dinner at Ray's Boathouse, I got salmon and he got "the special", some catch of the day that I recall trying and loving, because it was one of those greasy white flakey tender fish.

Sushi is different. Just a couple of bitesize morsels, raw, don't evoke the same fish odors and tastes as cooked salmon. I was slightly grossed out by my salmon at Ray's, but as I was drunk, I still ate it. The salmon I had at the Rainier Club wasn't nearly as fishy-tasting, but since everyone was having "surf'n'turf", the smell was pervasive. Even some sushi gets to me in that way, and I can't gorge myself on it b/c after a while the slimy texture reminds me that I don't like fish. At that point I tend to top up the rest of my sake and soldier along.

Reading too many books by chefs about their fish obsession, along with my desire to "go bamboo" for a while, I decided I need to try harder to like fish, but I would prefer to start with the white fish that can't be grilled b/c they fall apart. I will also need booze help. Even with sushi it took a while before I could eat it sober.

Originally posted on herbaliser.vox.com