I have been a huge R.E.M. fan for, well a very long time, seing them live a whack of times, including the unforgettable Yonge & Dundas show.  It’s been fifteen years since their Automatic For The People album, and Stereogum has done a great job putting together an eclectic, amazing tribute album.  From the essay:
Unlike most other celebrated, canonized records from the early ’90s, R.E.M.’s eighth album stands separate from the prevailing cultural trends of the era. Whereas most other rock bands at the time either embraced the aggressive, self-destructive …

This past Saturday Lauren and I were lucky enough to be invited over for dinner by my good friend Mike Cipollo and his wife Paula.  Mike is chef at the Bier Markt and always ensures that the food Lauren and I serve at our BBQ’s is top notch.  For Saturday’s dinner, MIke prepared the following:
Puget Sound Chowder – crisp bacon, mixed chives, grilled San Francisco sourdough
Victoria Island Sablefish – encrusted with red miso and served with soy glazed baby fennel.
Organic BC Salmon – plank roasted, pan glazed Yakima Valley baby …

I am so very powerful.

Jonathan Crowe keeps a blog called DFL in which he tracks which athletes finish last in each Olympic event. It’s a tribute to the losers. The losers who are at the Olympics.
And guess who is in last place as of today? Canada.
Standings to date: Canada retakes the lead with its eighth DFL; Australia moves into fifth place with its sixth last-place finish. With their third DFLs each, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, New Zealand and France move into 14th, 15th, 18th and 23rd places, respectively. With two last-place finishes and …