This mother truckin’ Inuit knife and breadboard bowl set drops it like it’s hot and then crushes it! Did you club a seal today and need to skin it? Did your redneck neighbor pass out on your front porch again and it’s time to cut off his mullet? Or hey, maybe you just got some fresh strawberries from Trader Joe’s and you’re looking to make some shortcake, yum! Brother this is THE knife and breadboard set for you, because it’s been doing all that and more for a couple millenia. That knife warns you too, DON’T MESS WITH ME, I’LL CUT YOU. Look at those eyes. Those are not teddy bears, friend. Those bears mean business. Now it’s about time to chop those carrots and olives into oblivion, but don’t worry, they’re gonna keep safe in this bowl. No rolling around gonna happen. All in all these tools will make your chopping a breeze, and they might even protect you from a home invasion.

After the storm of the century last night (which I had to run out in the middle of to roll my car windows up!) I woke up this morning, disappointed that for the second morning in a row I couldn’t go on a bike ride because of the bad weather.  But then I saw this off to the west:

That’s a rainbow you can see there.

Look, I’m no Phil Collins fan.  I have but one song from his entire catalog that I think is worthy of my ears, but I gotta give it to him, he really rocks this song.  Actually I think most of the credit has to go to Phillip Bailey.  So for your listening pleasure today:

You’re welcome, readers!

What?  You’ve always wanted to know my thoughts on this album?  Awesome!  I figured since there’s a huge resurgence in Big Poppa’s popularity it’s a good time to tackle this subject.

Disc 1 really gets going with the soft and luscious “Fuck You Tonight,” which features sex-machine R. Kelly.  It’s supposed to be seductive I think, at least it sounds like it’s supposed to be.  In a prolific solo by R., he asks his lady to “bring that ass to me, I’m fuckin’ you tonight, stuffin’ you tonight, ohhhhh…”  On advice from Ben, I was careful not to get raped in the ear.  I actually felt, more appropriately, like someone was pissing in my ear.  But in a sexy way.  I mean, I asked for it after all.

A little later comes “I Love the Dough” with Jay Z and Angela Winbush.  The song’s title really sums things up, but I think they all bring a sordid truth to life.  In this big and twisted world, don’t we all love the dough?  Indeed.  Money leads to things like chinchilla coats, heavy jewelry, fast cars, menage-a-trois, and unfortunately, mo’ problems…

“Mo Money Mo Problems” proves to stand the test of time, as Puffy predicts, “10 years from now, we’ll still be on top.  Yo, I thought I told ya, we won’t stop.”  It was from this song alone, that nearly a decade ago I was so impressed that when I found a MA$E CD on the ground, I didn’t even throw it away.  Ever since, it’s been happily nestled in my car’s console next to Britney Spears’ Greatest Hits, only coming out when no one is around.

“Niggas Bleed,” “Somebody’s Gotta Die” and “What’s Beef” round out the album with dire warnings to avoid the East Coast gangsta life.  People bleed, and mothafuckas die! I’m sure the streets of New York are cleaner than they were in the early nineties, but seriously kids, be cool, keep staying in school.  And learn problem solving techniques that don’t require anything like “tie you up, cut ya balls off,” as Biggie tells us of in “What’s Beef.”  There’s no need for that!

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Happy Birthday to me.  Y’all can listen to this awesome playlist now.  And you’re welcome, in advance.  Get ready to rock!

Found this a few weeks ago and I still can’t get it out of my head.  Thank god it’s 10 minutes long.

This one’s more blues-y

I’m adding a new feature to my humble blog.  Now, everyone can listen to what I’m listening to… you lucky readers!

OH MY GAAAAAAWD NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK ARE BACK!!!!!!!

I just heard their new song Summertime yesterday, and I reacted in the least dignified way possible.  I screamed.  Like I was one of those crazy girls seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show.  Well, not that bad.  But I screamed and laughed and immediately emailed my best friend from second grade, alerting her of this magical song.

I guess the strange thing is that I figured I’m probably not alone in my response.  I get the feeling that all over America and the rest of this crazy planet, women in their late 20’s and early 30’s are hearing this song and seeing the pictures of those 5 guys and just freaking out.

Here’s a link to the song, if you’re so inclined.  http://popdose.com/tag/new-kids-on-the-block/

I’ve been loving all of Blogotheque.net’s Takeaway Shows. They’re videos of bands just playing their songs at unexpected places in Paris and New York, or whatever city they happen to be in at the time.

One of my favorite ones is Beirut singing Nantes, but I’m also loving the Animal Collective videos.

And as long as I’m talking about Beirut, I love this video of Zach Condon singing the Grizzly Bear song Knife.