An album lover in a single world

After a gluttonous and otherwise wonderful Thanksgiving, I left my lovely wife and child to rush home so that I could get to work on Monday. As I drove, the ipod spun (figuratively) my entertainment.

Since I got the iPod, I've shifted, with the rest of the music buying public, to a single song driven world. I still buy complete albums...mostly out of habit and my pack-rat tendencies, but then I usually gravitate to a few gems, and they end up on playlists with other songs that I like. iTunes and the iPod make this really easy. They make it very easy to listen to an eclectic mix of music in a drive home from work without wrecking the car. Enough adds for Apple.....

On this trip, after one of my favorite playlists, I decided that it was time to get back to albums. I couldn't believe how much I had missed listening to a full album. Over the remaining four hours of the trip and for the past few days, I have been thoroughly entertained by listening to full albums. Here are just four examples:

Achtung Baby - U2
Field Songs - Mark Lanegan
The Score - Fugees
Mongo Introduces La Lupe - Mongo Santamaria

Good stuff....I don't think I'll stop making playlists and messing with the iTunes Party Shuffle, but it's good to remember that people can put together a good, complete album.

Weekends, cooking

Ahh...weekends. They're nice when you have them. This one was almost too busy to enjoy. I did have a good time, but it was a whirlwind.

Saturday was spent playing science geek at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. Yes, it was a truly geeky time, but hey, that's what I do. The meeting was in Hampton Roads, VA. Hampton Roads is out near Virginia Beach and Newport News. They say that Northern Virginia is a completely different place then the rest of the state. Whoa....I had no idea. For those of you that have a working knowledge of Baltimore, it was a lot like going to Dundalk. For those who know Florida's panhandle, it could be compared to Panama City, without all the strip clubs. The whole thing left me wanting to get back home, play with Katherine, and bang on some drums.

After barreling homeward when the meeting got over, I met the lovely Pru at a friend's wedding reception. I saw some people that I hadn't seen in a long time, proceeded to embarrass myself, and had a generally good time.

Finally, a quiet day at home on Sunday, with a quick dinner. This brings me to my true commentary in this blog. Phil and Jen introduced Pru and I to Zatarain's, one of those "meal in a box" sort of things, with a New Orleans flair.

Now, I'm a cook from scratch kind of guy. I like to take whatever's I've got and build something creative out of it. I also like to cook from a recipe. Dinner was always a big production in my parent's house, and one of those things that the whole family did together. Mom cooked a lot of different stuff, but it was NEVER from a box. Fresh veggies, fresh meat, homemade sauces, etc.

Also, I hate most meals in a box. I'm not a fan of the Hamburger Helper, Uncle Ben's, that San Francisco Treat, any of it. Zatarian's may have a convert though...MSG be damned. So far, we've had the Jambalya and the Carribean Rice. Good stuff. Pru had the Dirty Rice while I was gone on travel and liked that too. Lot's of salt, but good stuff.

Tastes good, and even Phil can cook it!

Now, I don't think it really saves much time. You still have to cook the meat, and it still has to cook for like 20 minutes. When you're not feeling creative or if you're inept in the kitchen, I'd recommend it. I understand that they've even got some meals that you just heat and serve.

Bottom line, a box of Zatarian's will likely become a staple in my pantry...until by blood pressure goes through the roof. I'll still try to cook at least one meal from scratch a week, so that we're bringing the kid up right and I can keep my chops up.