welcome back three-daze.

It's entirely feasible that the Bruins winning made this weekend more enjoyable. I remain in awe of how this team pulled it together at precisely the right moment on the biggest stage. Anyways, the weekend was great. For starters, the girlfriend and I headed to Connecticut so she could partake in my sister's bachelorette party. My sister is in full wedding mode and we'll be headed back to CT in three weeks for the wedding. I'm stoked.

Meanwhile, while they frolicked around, I headed to visit my roommate from college, Brian. We spent nearly two hours on his back porch embracing summer's warmth while listening Iron & Wine and crushing beers before going out. It brought back fond college memories with the kid, and we're still able to enjoy the simple things to this day.

We were roommates. I enjoyed college.

 

For your viewing pleasure: Iron & Wine - Upward Over the Mountain

Other weekend things: kayaking the Charles River with friends, getting my golf swing back and a beer-b-que hosted by another friend from college. 

Three day weekends, you're spot on.

movin' parts

Oh, those Bruins. After such insufferable collapses and game seven follies, it's such a relief. No need to harp on this. Vancouver it is.

That said, I'm back and sorry for the delay. Rather, a shortened hiatus as rain soaked New England took its toll. Perhaps beautiful weather was just the inspiration needed. And this long weekend.

Dolly is back for another weekend-stay-cation in Newton. The heat is getting to her a bit. Her panting has become white noise at this point. Regardless, we took some time to look out the window today.

Intimidating watchdog

In unrelated news, it's almost time to kiss the impala holla goodbye. She's been solid all these years and still drives well. At the very least she is tolerable. The reason she'll be gracing Craigslist after summer is because I'm moving and will no longer need her services. Indeed, my commute to work is short -- it's about five minutes depending on when parents are dropping their children off at school. In general, though, I am tired of driving and can take the T to and from work with minimal walking. But I digress. The girlfriend and I picked out a Brighton apartment (edge of Comm. and just up the hill from Cleveland Circle to you Bostonians) today after a relatively short search and put down a deposit to avoid the September 1 rush. We can now comfortably enjoy summer without a search looming, which is something we deemed important from the moment Newton became an afterthought. Newton has been an above par first apartment and an overall joy. Residing close to Boston is nice, but living in Boston is nicer. Moving to my second apartment has taught me one important iota: you know it when you see it. As was the case in Newton, our new apartment fits the bill -- literally and figuratively -- to become our next niche. I suppose the point of this post was to ask if anyone wants to buy a rugged 2000 chevy impala that has a broken fuel gauge, 120K miles and persistent low tire pressure?

Yeah, I wouldn't want it either.

Plans for the long weekend? Maybe seeing an old pal, Musuem of Fine Arts, kayaking the Charles.

Cheers.

reading, listening, making

Reading: "The Way" by Michael Berg. It focuses on the fundamentals of Kabbalah with a balance of past and modern societal ideals. It does not preach nor extend an agenda, either. What it does do, essentially, is lay out the methods to better your life in terms of spirituality by realizing what's proverbially above you. It also stresses levels of fulfillment, which is really the crux of the book. I find similarities in my own life with some of its aspects; not to mention the carry over displayed in daily life. Nonetheless, a difference of opinion is quite prevalent as well. I suppose that's the beauty of it. I originally read it in college when balancing an internship at Hartford Magazine, being a staff writer at The Informer and taking on a full course load. I'm not sure what prompted me to re-read the metaphors and tales that were -- perhaps still are -- so convincing. It allows you to lose yourself and evaluate from a new perspective.

*Side read: Joel Stein's latest in TIME taking aim at Twitter and, of course, the pressure of following/being followed*

Listening: This is rather obvious coming from me. Dispatch released a new EP yesterday as their summer tour kicks off in about a month. They still demonstrate the undeniable chemistry that paved the way for independent music. There's a splash of State Radio, Braddigan's south american influence and Pete's folksy/bluesy-storytelling-ish lyrics from their respective solo work. The overall sound remains near and dear to my heart.

Making: Just finished jalapeno, corn and black bean rice. It's all sort of southwestern. 

Throw that down Bobby Flay.

the cure for your rainy day

I have found the anecdote to make you and yours feel better as this rainy week rolls through. 

Download the newest from Dispatch. We've waited long enough after such a drought.

ramblings on the Celts

I was not upset that the Celtics lost last night. Why? Because it's the NBA, and I personally can't stand how soft the game is. I get my daily fix from Adrian Wojnarowski. He speaks the truth. I admit to being a casual fan embedded with copious amounts of useless knowledge of the team. Last night's game forced me to ponder the future of the Celtics, and here are my thoughts.

The future is bleak at best and Celtics nation should be peachy with that. In other words: they are going to be bad sooner than later; bottom of barrel bad.

What were you people expecting? We knew this window was small -- alluding to the big three three in particular. Danny Ainge made the best move possible in acquiring them, and once a window is clear and open -- albeit a small one -- you take it. Look at the Philadelphia Phillies, for example. They are aging but taking advantage of a core group in a specific window. Indeed, they loaded up with Cliff Lee, but the Celtics envisioned that with getting Shaq and Jermaine O' Neil to compensate the injury to Kendrick Perkins. Although the latter was traded, the point is that the team -- with the ownership's support -- had this window to compete, and compete they did. Regardless of the insufferable years prior to the big three's arrival, this ship has almost sailed. I laugh at the prospect of a solid team in the future, especially from the green-teamers.

Backing up for a thought: I was irked by the Perkins trade for reasons different than offensive or defensive plays and schemes. The old adage of there's only a few "really talented true centers" in the NBA remains true, and that was the only advantage the Celtics had over other teams, principally in the east.  Nonetheless, the chief reason I hated the move lives behind the scenes.

It's strange though (putting aside the thought that the Celtics have never lost with "that starting five") as I can see any of these occurring based on the league's parody:
-The Celtics come back to win this series
-Paul Pierce opts out of his deal and retires
-They do not make a run at Dwight Howard when he becomes a free agent, causing a stir in Boston because they will have the money coming off the books -- and also, why would he pick Boston over somewhere with a warm climate? Superman works in any colors, especially purple and yellow.

All in all, it's one of those "enjoy it while it lasts" scenarios. Try to imagine the other side of the coin; the trade never happened and Paul Pierce was still carrying the load on a losing team (I was going to pull the team's records prior to 2008, but saying they were grotesque will suffice). They would remain irrelevant in the city as the Patriots and Red Sox would tower over them. People would not even feel a shadow.

We were all on board with the Celtics transformation when it happened, and we still should be. We, as fans of any degree, salivate over big-name transactions. The reason I'm so adamant about the flat-line future is not merely because of retiring veterans, but because the Heat and Bulls are getting that much better.

DJ's spark won't save em' now.

ode to guster

Last night the girlfriend and I ventured to our second home -- the House of Blues in Boston. We are seemingly there every two weeks or so, and we've come to understand it's truly an intimate venue that, regardless of seating, provides the perfect platform for numerous styles of music. Last night's rendition featured Guster, a band we've both followed for years, seen live on previous occasions and collectively amass triple digits of songs on our respective iPods. That's a realistic figure since they have been together for 20 years or so. I would not use the word skeptical going into the show, but I was worried they changed; I suppose suggesting that their old sound transformed into something less appealing. Let me be the first to tell you: if you have not seen Guster in years, go see them again. And if you have never seen them, get yourself tickets. Their live show remains loud, catchy and filled with jam-band-type solos. They do a masterful job of mixing up old and new tracks, which is something not all artists do when trying to appeal to the audience. Most importantly, their flow of songs does not diminish tempo. They include better lighting for shows, which has certainly developed over the years as popularity increased and demand for tickets came at a premium. 

I am not going to try to describe it all here. What I am going to do though is let you see the videos and photos I've posted to get a feel. Of course, it won't be the same sound as attending live, nor is it possible to capture the emotion and ambiance of a sold out show. The girlfriend was almost in tears seeing them again, nearly resembling one of those old Beatles videos where females practically combust and shake from seeing Paul McCartney grab a guitar. I will probably cry at Dispatch this summer, but I digress. Usually I post videos to Facebook and pictures to the blog, but these videos were worth the upload time as they are above par quality taken from the second row.

Enjoy the tunes, people! Maybe even share them with your mother for her day!

"Demons" 

  "Hercules"

 "Manifest Destiny" 

 

"Happier"

Reading and listening

Here's a solid duo. If you enjoyed the Royal Wedding, understand current sports and can stand dry humor you're advised to read Joel Stein's latest column in TIME Magazine. It's that good. Also, take a listen at Dispatch's new song Melon Bend. The fact that Dispatch is having a tour, recording and collaborating -- albeit for only a couple months -- sparks a musical utopia for those who appreciate what they did for independent music.