Grilling Season Starts When I Say It Starts

Late yesterday afternoon, the temperature in Columbus hit the fifties. That combined with the fact that it was a Friday and I had some pork chops in the fridge made me feel like if I didn’t grill dinner, than I would be wasting a perfect opportunity.

I started things up right around dusk, about the same time the outside temperature seemingly dropped 20 degrees. Even with less light than I’m used to (thanks to the shorter daylight hours) I was able to get the grill started. I had to scramble to find all of the grilling equipment that we had put away for the winter.

Even though I had a good flame, things felt different. Not just the cold or the dark, but even the flame, which stayed blue the whole time I was warming up the coals in the chimney starter. I’ve never seen a blue flame last that long, because usually it dies out once the top coals start burning.

Along with the pork chops, which I had brining since that afternoon, I made some potatoes on the grill and some peas on the oven.

As expected, dinner was great. And it was nice to have some food fresh off the grill in early January.

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Weezer in ’97-’98: Indecision and Abandoning the Past

I originally wrote the following in 2010 for a Weezer-related blog that doesn’t exist anymore. This was written before Death to False Metal, Mikey’s Facebook posts and the release of the Pinkerton Diaries. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

“…and tomorrow we go to LA to make our new record”

Rivers Cuomo spoke these words to a Boston audience on January 14, 1998. With Pat Wilson manning the drums, Weezer’s fans, both those in attendance and those who would later hear the show through tapes and MP3s had reason to be optimistic. Sure, Pinkerton wasn’t a commercial success, but for the band’s fanbase, it was the perfect album. There was some discord among the band during the post-release promotion and tour schedule, but here, in Boston, half of the band was on the same stage, playing together once again. And while Rivers slowly began to distance himself from the Pinkerton material, fans were pleased with these new songs.

Indeed, Weezer was off to Los Angeles to make a new record. But Weezer’s third record wouldn’t hit stores for another three years, during which time the band lost and gained a bassist, the fanbase would swell thanks to filesharing and Rivers Cuomo and his music would each undergo dramatic changes.

This is not the story of the third album, 2001’s Weezer (The Green Album). Rather, this is the story of Rivers’ final months in Boston through the time the band ceased recording in the fall of 1998. Just as information from this time period is sparse, so is the musical output. As Karl Koch put it, the band “refused to let their management even hear what they were doing for the most part, and shared only a small fraction of the music then or since.” Pat calls the time period “one of indecision and abandoning the past.” This is an attempt to explore the time period using the little available news from the era, along with the words of the band and their friends, and to shed some light on one of the most fascinating (if only because little is known about it) periods in Weezer history.

In August 1997, Weezer returned to the United States after supporting No Doubt and headlining their own shows overseas. The band had been through a heavy period of emotional turmoil; dealing with the reaction to Pinkerton, members wanting to focus on their side bands and the deaths of fanclub founders (and some of the band’s earliest supporters), sisters Mykel and Carli Allan and their sister Trysta.

Continue reading “Weezer in ’97-’98: Indecision and Abandoning the Past” →

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The Pinkerton Diaries Finally Arrives

For a while (a few years now), Weezer fans have been waiting for the third installment of Rivers Cuomo’s Alone series, containing not only a CD full of home demos, but also a 200+ page book, the Pinkerton Diaries, focused on the years surrounding Weezer’s second album.

The book and CD, which were self-published by Cuomo, were shipped this week. And I got mine today.

I haven’t been able to read or listen to everything, but so far, it’s incredible. The songs on the CD (only a few of which actually ended up on Pinkerton) are a lot rougher than on the other Alone discs. The book is detailed, with content from the day The Blue Album was released through the fall of 1997. There’s a lot of insight, whether it’s on the development of Songs from the Black Hole, his Harvard essays or plans for music after Pinkerton.

As an added bonus, the small run of books was individually numbered, and the first 500 ordered received signed posters. I ordered within ten minutes of the Twitter announcement last month. Somehow, my poster is numbered 34 and my book is numbered 387.

It’s clear that Rivers and crew put a lot of work into this. The book/CD cost $75, which, from my knowledge of the printing industry, is worth it. It’s a small-run self-published project and I wouldn’t be surprised if this doesn’t make money for Rivers.

Of course, I’d like it to- I’d really like future editions, particularly one covering 1997-2000. And I haven’t even finished this one yet.

 

 

King Tom

Twitter: a Place for Celebrities to Answer Your Questions

Over the past month or so, The Civee, Hope and I have developed a breakfast routine on weekends: waffles and/or pancakes. Hope loves preparing just as much as she loves eating- she and The Civee mix the ingredients and I cook.

This morning, while getting some pancakes ready, The Civee informed me we had twins- the egg she just cracked had a double yolk (stupidly, I forgot to grab a camera and document this, so you’ll have to take my word for it). We went back and forth over whether the recipe should be modified- would the added protein in the second yolk throw a monkey wrench into the balance of the recipe? Ultimately, we decided to go with the recipe as is and the pancakes turned out fine.

But throughout the day, that question was on my mind. Did we make the right call? What if we had been cooking something where the egg played a key role? I’m sure I could have Googled an answer, but I’d rather hear from an expert.

I’ve followed Alton Brown on Twitter since he started his account. I’ve watched his shows for years. He’s one of two people on the Food Network these days that actually knows anything about food. If anyone could answer my question, it would be him. Still, he’s a busy guy and even though he answers a lot of questions on Twitter, odds are that mine would fall through the cracks. Still, I decided to send my question out into the ether:

And before you could say egg-salad sandwich:

I was quite surprised. The Civee and I made the right call. Alton Brown answered my question and he did it rather expeditiously. I did sent Alton (I figure we’re on a first-name basis now) a follow up thank you, because he didn’t have to answer my question.

This goes to show that you never know until you ask. And thanks to Twitter, at least one celebrity has acknowledged my existence.

King Tom

It’s Time to Watch the Movie

It was a rainy day and The Civee and I had to do something with Hope this afternoon. We decided to take her to a movie.

We went to see The Muppets. It was age appropriate for her, The Civee and I wouldn’t be totally bored and Hope is familiar with the Muppets from Weezer’s Keep Fishin’ video (Weezer has a surprising number of kid-friendly videos).

We were concerned that we wouldn’t be able to last the whole movie. Hope gets vocal and likes to move around a lot, but we were willing to try.

The theater wasn’t that crowded, so we got seats near the aisle. There were a number of trailers and a Toy Story short before the movie started. Hope seemed to get the idea of watching what was going on on the big screen, although she often stood on her seat and talked (asking for more popcorn, mostly).

We did have to take her for a walk a few times and she got real antsy towards the end (damn those previews and the short feature!). But overall, she enjoyed the experience. The Civee and I liked the movie. And I’m glad to know what happened to the world’s supply of New Coke.

Also, when we were on our way into the theater, I saw a poster for the next movie I’m taking Hope to see:

King Tom4 Comments

Housekeeping

If the blog looks a little out of sorts over the next few days, don’t worry.

I was looking at the blog and noticed my Google Reader widget on the sidebar hasn’t been updated in forever. That’s because the Google Reader no longer supports sharing through RSS, but rather they’ve moved the sharing to Google +. So I’m trying to update that.

Then I noticed that my archive was getting real long. So I have a new archive widget.

I’ll be making some other changes too (hopefully).

Of course, the best way to get the Kingdom writing better is to write more, which I’ll try doing also.

King Tom

(Not Those) Yankees Win the World’s Series

For the past eight years, I’ve participated in the Ohio Old Time Strat-O-Matic League, an all-time, online simulated baseball league. Because we use players from throughout baseball history (their abilities normalized to allow for an even playing field), The Civee refers to it as the “Dead Players Baseball League.”

The OOSL doesn’t take up that much of my time, but it is a year-round commitment, considering there’s games to be played during the season and trades to be made in the off-season.

Earlier today, we wrapped up the 2011 season with game 9 (it is an old-timey league after all) of the World’s Series. My team (the New York Yankees, naturally) won the series, beating the Montreal Expos.

I’ve made the post-season a few other times, but never made it further than the League Championship Series. But even in years when I finished with a losing record, I still enjoyed participating.

It’s nice to have won it all. Despite her commentary on the league, The Civee is proud of me for winning. I may just take it easy this offseason. But then again, I do have trades to make.

King Tom2 Comments

Getting My Wires Crossed

I was pretty tired last night after dinner. The Civee and I were having a discussion about movies and filmmaking, and I said:

Well, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi weren’t directed by George Steinbrenner.

Obviously. Although, I could totally see Steinbrenner as an overanxious filmmaker.

King Tom

Thanksgiving Without a Turkey

I hope everyone out there in Internet-land had a great Thanksgiving, because I know Hope, The Civee and I sure did. It was just the three of us and The Civee’s parents. And because we were hosting and I was cooking, I decided to fulfill one of my life-long dreams (that ended up not happening a few years ago): steak for Thanksgiving. Or more accurately, Prime Rib for Thanksgiving.

It’s not that I don’t like turkey. I enjoy turkey tacos or the occasional turkey burger. But I happen to like the idea of steak for Thanksgiving (or any other day). The plans were hatched early on after we invited The Civee’s parents. They were both on board with the change from tradition.

I’ve never cooked prime rib before, and was a little bit nervous. I got a 6.5 pound section and had the whole afternoon planned. Out of the fridge at 1:15, in the oven at 3:05, lower the heat at 3:25, baste/check every half-hour, out of the oven by 5:15 (as long as it reached 120 degrees) and let it rest 20 minutes. All I did to it before putting it in the oven was put some butter on the sides and a pepper-garlic powder mixture over the whole thing. But when the estimated removal time came, the temperature was still lower than 100 degrees, so I had to let it cook longer (another 40 minutes all together).

I also made a salad and asparagus. The Civee’s mom made some broccoli and The Civee made mashed potatoes. Despite the wait for the prime rib (which ended up being worth it), dinner was incredible. The Civee’s father made some pies, which provided a great end to an amazing meal.

It was nice to make a dinner (especially one which we all thought was really good) to people who have provided many meals for The Civee and I (and many others). And I think Hope really liked the idea of a day where you eat all day. I could definitely do a non-turkey Thanksgiving again.

Although, I do have to say, even not having had any turkey, right now I’m feeling pretty tired. Who knew there was tryptophan in beef?

King Tom