Orange Crush - Embryonic

One of the great pleasures of intently following a band like R.E.M. is the bootlegs; and being able to hear the rare treasures that are early versions of some of their most popular songs.

This is one of my favorites. It is an early version of Orange Crush played at the 40 Watt Club in August 1987 prior to the start of the Work Tour. Orange Crush was later included on the album Green, which was released in November 1988. I enjoy this early version because I like to see how the music progresses and it is also fun to have a different perspective of the song.

There are other R.E.M. songs that were performed live before they made it onto a album that underwent some significant changes. Some of which include, The One I Love, Fall on Me, and I Believe. I'll try to post those later on as well. In the meantime, please enjoy Orange Crush!

Pasta is Fundamental

In a recent of episode of "No Reservations," host Anthony Bourdain said something that really caught my attention. He said, "Without pasta, the meal is a sin against God and everything that is good and decent in the world." He was visiting Venice and was dining in a small family owned restaurant. Oh, how I wanted to be there.

Recently, for some unknown, reason I have been asked several times what my favorite food is. What a question! How do I answer that? Sweet or savory? Is it something I have made? Could it be something my mother has made? Something I had at a restaurant? My favorite food? I don't know why, but it struck me as such a challenging question. Should I equate it with the entire dining experience, or just base it on taste itself?

After much deliberating, I finally was confident of what my favorite food actually is. Pasta. Simply pasta cooked al dente, with a drizzle of olive oil and some freshly grated parmesan reggiano cheese. For me, there is nothing better. Simple, yet delicious; and the Anthony Bourdain quote pretty much sums it up for me. Pardon me, but I have to get some water boiling...

Why is gas priced to 9/10 of a cent?

This is the question I asked myself as I drove home from work the other day. I have always noticed it, really I didn't really think about it being there, but this is the first time I was determined to find an answer. I did some searching on the Internet and found that there really are no specific answers; but several theories abound.

One theory is that it was a result of the gas wars of the 1940's so that the oil companies can make their product seem cheaper. Another theory is that way of pricing gives the consumer a false sense of accuracy in the gas prices. Many retail studies have found that when prices end in 9, consumers will spend more money, much like pricing a product at .99 cents, rather than $1.00.

Wisegeek.com has a good write up on the subject and actually gives some facts on what 9/10 of a cent is worth. http://www.wisegeek.com/why-do-gas-prices-always-end-in-910-of-a-cent.htm

As for me, I'm going to start buying my gas from Donny's Discount Gas!