In approximately 43 days I will reach the not-so-glamorous age of 29.

It's an odd number that's not sexy at all, but the significance of turning 29 is obvious. That's because the number that comes after it is 30. It's the age that many people in their twenties dread because it reeks of that horrible odor called "maturity."

At thirty we should be moving towards establishing something resembling a "career" and maybe even *gasp* getting married, starting a family. Theoretically our partying days are supposed to be over and the days of becoming an upstanding member of society are in our faces.

Whether or not any of this is actually true is of little consequence. The fact of the matter is each of us should be moving along at whatever pace feels natural for us. Forcing the action, I think, is ridiculous and perhaps even dangerous. However, at thirty you have reached a significant milestone from the standpoint that there's a whole lot for us to reflect back on. Thirty years of memories should be enough to turn a boy into a man and a gal into a woman.

Ryan Adams says his last of three albums he released in 2005 titled simply 29 is about those years between ages 19 and 30 in which we both embrace and shed our innocence. The album consists of 9 songs, one for each year of his twenties but if you listen to it you hear it isn't especially autobiographical. I believe what Adams is attempting to do is not just write songs that are about a specific year in his own life but rather songs about other people that take place during each year of his twenties. If that makes sense.

Whatever. The bottom line is that by the end of the album you do feel a level of maturity has been reached. When I saw Adams in Baltimore he stopped the show mid-concert, grabbed a stool and his guitar, hopped off the stage and strode to the middle of the floor of the Meyerhoff Opera House turning it into an impromptu unplugged show. This was probably not the ideal venue to perform such a stunt since there were too many people there to be able to hear him (it never occurred to the lad to bring a mic with him) but the effect was chilling. It forced everyone who wanted to hear to lean in, shut up and listen closely. That's what 29 does. After the full band bonanzas of Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights, 29 is stripped down, emotional, raw and (much like JCN) very introspective.

There's an air of reflection that permeates through all three of his '05 albums that only popped its head up every once and a while in his earlier stuff. Quite frankly it's the sound of a man growing up. It's a man staring his future right in the eye, no matter what that future may hold, and saying "I'm ready for whatever you've got...or at least I hope so."

So,

It has recently come to my attention that I need another job. Not a different job, just an additional one. Working at the Warehouse has become part-part time, and for some reason (though I was making a shit-ton this fall) freelancing has kind of dried up. I know most people would dream of a life where day in, day out they roll off the bed whenever, and do nothing. This kind of life sends me running for the barrell of a gun. Any advice (the kind I'm excpecting or real advice) that could help me get a two-three day a week 9-5 ish job in the area would be greatly appreciated.

"Do they owe us a living? 'Course they fucking do!"
Denman

Here's how the British hold back the waters from flooding London:



And the Dutch solution to protecting an entire nation that mostly rests below sea level:



The Italians are defending their city on the sea, Venice (Giant platforms on hinges raise up to break the waves when they get too high):





And the richest, most powerful and technologically advanced nation on earth, USA...



Go Corps of Engineers.

yeah...

this week's comic is a little weird....

Transcribed exactly, with t ypographical errors intact. It is printed in pencil. Some of it is crossed out.

Messing with these young girls is gonna get'cha locked up and nothing is more pricele
ss than (our) freedom so If I should die Today I can at least say He is always There (to) greet Them god that is

1-11-06 LIL-Leezy

I don't know if it can match the genius of this flyer, found by my friend Anthony taped to a telephone pole elsewhere in Chicago several months ago:



But it's something, all right.

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs, bone-in
30oz chicken broth
30oz water
1 large carrot, medium dice
2 medium onions, medium dice
3 celery stalks, medium dice
1 small turnip, quartered or tourneed
1 parsnip, peeled and medium dice
4 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary, roughly picked
1 sprig sage
1/2 cup dill, roughly chopped
2/3 cup parsley, roughly chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white wine

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, cold
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup chopped parsley

Remove most of the skin from the chicken, leaving a little fat for flavor, and season it with salt and black pepper. In a large wide pot, heat the oil and brown the chicken on both sides. Add the vegetables, season them with salt, and cook until the onions are translucent, about five minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the wine and cook until it has mostly evaporated, about three minutes. Add the broth and water, cover the pot, and bring to a rolling boil. Boil rapidly for three minutes, then reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook the soup, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about half an hour. Remove any herb stems with a slotted spoon or tongs.

While the soup is cooking, mix the dumpling dough. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and fold in the butter, using a mixer or two knives. The butter should be the size of very small peas and distributed throughout the dry ingredients. Add the water and knead 8 to 10 times. If the dough seems too sticky, add a little more flour. Pinch off a dumpling-sized handful of dough and drop it into the soup - this is your tester dumpling. If it falls apart, add one egg white to the dough and try again. Once you're happy with the dumpling consistency, start adding dumplings to the soup. Poach them in the simmering broth for approximately five minutes, until they're cooked through. Turn off the heat and serve.

So some of you may already know about my love for weird videos and I have to say that seeing Heavy Metal Parking Lot for the first time in like 2000 was what did it for me. My dear friend Jason Griffin showed me HMPL and the Dancing Outlaw (a must see for those of you who haven't).

well Jeff Krulik went on to bigger and better things like "Neil Diamond Parking Lot" and several others.

Then this satellite channel called TRIO started showing "Parking Lot." I was lucky enough to catch a marathon at Chuck's house in Ohio on Turkey Day of 2004 & it was amazing! It's not Krulik doing the interviews but it's still good.

But anything ultra cool and too hip for most of the ass-hats out there fades into oblivion, which TRIO did. BUT I just learned that the channel has been resurrected from the grave and has become a broadband channel. now we can watch all the parking lots that we want!! All the time. not to mention that TRIO shows all kinds of neato documentaries and stuff.

I love you TRIO. and parking lot.

http://www.trioplus.tv/