Two Wheels Tuesday

Special two-up, with a giant fish edition.

Birthday Bidness

So, it was a long weekend of birthday/mom visit adventure here.

I won't bore you with too many details...

Hung with my mum.
Ate at some favorite spots I have found here, so far.
Drove around and looked at stuff.
Floated around on a sailboat, in Newport harbor.
Walked dogs.
Got rained on.
Visited the RISD museum.
Looked for a birdbath?
Unboxed a hammock.
Swapped a clutch cover.
Ate cookies.

Maybe that was a lot of details...

Anyway, I hung with some of my favorite gals and got older.
It was fun.

Sunday Drive

At the stop sign, go straight.

The Olympics

I haven't really been watching them.

Broadcasting Again

We are kinda like public radio/television here, it seems...

A kind grant from a supportive reader of Pretty Not Good has allowed some hardware upgrades to the broadcast equipment.

Back to providing you with our usual, banal bullshit shortly...

Moms

Moms that buy finned, cast alloy motorcycle parts as gifts rate pretty high, in my book...
Sure, there is not quite a real reason to have this, beyond the vague promise of increased clutch cooling, but it does look fucking cool.

Sunday Drive

Some Sundays, you have to get out of the car.

Tape

Really, it has been a while since we have had a post about me playing with tape...

Right?

Go, The

Weekend Plans

Something like this...

Not That You Care

This probably won't impact your life much, but my primary computer suffered a significant cat attack and is out of service.
There are posts loaded up for your entertainment, set to go off for a while.  That is how things work here, you know.  I am not sitting down every day, dealing out this random crap I mean...
So, if things go quiet for a bit here, in the near future, that is why.
Or maybe I am just busy actually doing things.

Friends

I like to listen to other peoples conversations, when I am out and about.
You know, to keep my finger on the pulse of my surroundings...


I was out recently, sitting next to a couple of youngish, professional type gals.
They were reviewing resumes together, over a cocktail.
I would bet they were in accounting, based on the things they mentioned.


After weeding out unqualified applicants, there conversation turned personal.
In that totally uncomfortable, vague colleague you now have to get to know kind of way...


One asked "Do you like TV?"
Seriously.
They respectively listed there preferred television programs. 


Then they got to talking about Friends.


People actually still talk about that show?
Really?


They compared favorite characters, with Ross and Chandler sharing top honors in their world.


Really?
People determining the career paths of recent college grads still talk about the television show Friends?


The whole thing made me uneasy...

Feeling Cool?

Well, this guy has you beat...


Seriously.  Taz shirt, sparkley hat, green glasses, boom box...
And a gussied up llama.


There is that FTW attitude...
Then there is this guy.


Llama dude, I salute you.

Two Wheels Tuesday

AMA Flat Track Racing Promo from Jessica Schoen on Vimeo.

Fluter

What I am listening to, right now...

Sunday Drive

Really?




No one?

Yours

Weekend Plans

Something like this.

Fan Mail Friday

I get this kinda shit all the time...

Score

Ladies love giant video projectors...

Boots

I was hanging out with KVC last week, chatting and whatever...

Just normal type conversation, of which I don't really remember the details.


Somehow, I thought referencing these pointy boot dudes, from Mexico, was relevant.
Thinking that most people have seen a picture of these guys and their really pointy, pointed boots.



I guess not everybody has.

Having to explain the pointy boots and convince KVC that it was actually a thing sorta sidetracked the conversation, a lot.


So, here is a picture of a Mexican dude wearing really pointy, pointed boots.
If, for some unknown reason, I feel the need to comment on this in conversation you now know what I am talking about...

Noise

I mentioned before that I have been getting quiet, since our move here.

Let's talk about that for a minute, as I have always been perceived as the quiet guy, until you get to know me...and I get around to trusting/respecting you.
Then I am all Chatty Cathy and shit.

So, yeah, I am not really talking less when I talk about being quiet.
I am trying to be quiet in my head...

I still crank the volume on a rockin' song and make the motorcycle howl when I get a chance.  I am not talking about quiet quite like that.




Part of it is that I have been trying to reduce the noise I face every day...
Electronic nonsense, social media and some of the other random crap that we get sprayed with day to day.

One thing I have done that has surprised me with some serious quiet is unsubscribing from every bullshit marketing e-mail list I have gotten on, for one reason or another.
I hadn't really thought about how much of that dumb mail hits my inbox.  I am pretty good about avoiding those lists, but you know, book a hotel room on-line or order something...more random e-mail about how you can save 10% by giving somebody $100+ for something you don't need.

So I made a conscious effort to click unsubscribe on every one of those stupid messages as soon as it hit my inbox, for the past month.
And it has worked...
That new mail symbol, on the top of my phone, usually means I have a message from somebody I have an actual interest in, or conversation I am engaged in, or shit that really has something to do with my life.

Maybe that doesn't sound like much, but try it and you will get my point.

Commute

I don't remember mine going like this...

Two Wheels Tuesday

Malibu Monday

It's a painting of a Malibu, actually.

Well, I mean it is a digital image of a painting of a Malibu....
Some guy named Robert Bechtle painted it.

Cook & Brown

We have been up to other stuff, but one bit that merits mention is a recent dinner with some new pals at this place...

One of those places that takes you by surprise.

I heard the name only, before we headed there, and it includes "public house".  I also inferred that it was vegetarian friendly.
So, yeah, thinking of some sort of hippy brew pub thing...that was what I figured I was in for.

That is not what I found.  Great meal.
I guess they switch up the menu every few days, so I will skip describing food and all.  The food is good.
Cook and Brown, recommended...

Sunday Drive

How far do you suppose "a ways" is?



Up the road, a ways...

Commercials

You know how TV commercials are designed to make you feel bad?

They show amazing people doing fun shit. Eating well. Laughing with pals. Doing breezey crap.

I kinda have that vibe, presently, but for reals...
It rules.

Enjoy your deal, man.
Make it real. Make it better...
It is all ya got.

Free, Until

Le Car Van

So, this was actually a thing?


Like the factory, French version of a custom van...
Only not with a van but rather a Renault hatchback?


Well, OK then.


Probably seemed like a really awesome idea at the time, right?
All the great styling of a sweet van, but in a tiny car...

I guess I was around back then.
Don't remember hankering for a van styled Renault, but then I am not French.

Bummer

Having a holiday right there in the middle of the week, sorta a bummer?

Get back to work you lazy slacker.




No, I don't have a job yet...

Fourth

It is that day when I post up a patriotic picture.

You know, something that captures the spirit and independence of our great nation...

Always so hard to find the right image, but I am going with this one.
There were some with fireworks, or the eagle and flag morphed together, flying eagles, etc...

I think this one really has a stoic, resolute quality about it, which is appropriate in these challenging times.
Or whatever...


Shouldn't you be grilling, drinking or blowing something up right now?

Two Wheels Tuesday

Special patriotic/fuzzy photoshop edition...

La Masseria Monday

We actually checked this place out last week.  I am just getting around to mentioning it, I guess...

This Italian joint down the road from us was recommended by our landlord.  He happens to be Italian, like from Milan not New Jersey, so I figured his pick for such restaurant was worth a visit.

Yup, it was.

We ended up there after KVC worked late.  I had been attacking the yard all day.  Our collective objective was a quick, casual bite, but our first option was closed for a private thing.
Since we still don't really know where shit is here, we randomly headed towards East Greenwich and I remember this place...

Now I am pretty sure that most people who dine here hire people to manicure their lawns, or at least hit the showers before heading out to dinner.  The dude in the suit ushered us to table straight away, in spite of my appearance.  The only table left, now that I think about it, even the bar was full.

So really, you don't care about any of that.  This seems to be a food driven post, right?
Sure...

We had some frito misto, you know, fried calamari and what not.  Served with standard marinara kind of a dipping sauce, but way better than most people's standards.  Pretty good.
I sorta regretted not getting the special appetizer, but you know fried things always keep people from further commenting on how hungry they are...
What else?
I ordered a pasta dish, because it's an Italian place.  The rough cut noodles with smoked mozzarella and eggplant,  Now that was some good shit.
We had some simple sauteed spinach, with some garlic for flavor.
A seafood special, that was a clam plus other plus broth and crusty bread deal.  That was also remarkably good, in spite of my ability to actually concisely remark on what it was.  Like cioppino, without noodles, sorta.
We split everything, more so I could get to try more parts of the menu, but that made the portions almost tapas like which really fit the bill.

Really great food, nice wine list, service with people who are professionals.
I would say this place is better than the other whoopty-doo place that folks here seem crazy for, but I have only visited both once.  I would recommend this La Masseria before Al Forno, if that is worth anything.  Just more my thing, I guess...



In other news, we did standard crap, you know...

Got some more house things, including a cart/island thingy for the kitchen.  I like it, more room to prep food and I don't have my back to the world, head in a dark corner to do it.  The kitchen here isn't exactly pretty, but it finally feels more functional.

Yesterday was declared Sangria Sunday.

I made some versions featured in our friend Mittie's sangria book, which we helped with some years ago.  By help, I mean we invited people to party's at our place, made snacks and got drunk on sangria.  It was hard work, I tell you.

I whipped up a white sangria with oranges and campari, which ends up like a gentle negroni if that makes sense.  There was a rose deal, with three berries and basil also in reserve.
One of KVC's associates came over, along with her big dog.

We chatted, sipped, art toured, noshed, watched a thunder storm, blabbed, drank, snacked, played with dogs, slurped and ate over the course of many hours.

There was an improv sangria, midway through the afternoon when supplies were getting low.  Basically the berries mentioned above, some stuff I forgot and a bottle of red.  We were all really thirsty...

If you have hung out with us, at home, it was like that.

I have gotten feedback from the other attendees that perhaps we should go with Sangria Saturdays from here on out.
Apparently Sunday is followed by Monday and that doesn't go well with sangria, or something...

July?

Man, I can't believe it's July already...

Sunday Drive

We can catch it, if you go faster.