We stopped by the new Uncle Joe’s Crab Shack on Maple Road in Amherst, just outside of Buffalo, NY at two o’clock on Sunday afternoon. We like to go to popular restaurants at odd times, to avoid the crowds. Call it Linner, I suppose.
Our timing didn’t help this time around, there was still a 45 minute wait. We gave our name and my cell number so that they could reach me when the table was ready. (I have no idea what they do if one of the 7 people in the contiguous United States without a cell phone shows up).
We amused ourselves during the wait as most eight year olds would, by poking and teasing each other. Unfortunately, the youngest of us was 18.
We were finally seated in the packed dining room and ordered pots of crab. I don’t recall what they are called, but they are good sized steamer pots.
We were provided with utensils and a bucket that fit into a hole cut into the center of the table. This was to discard crab shells, napkins and other detritus. But it was oddly fascinating. It was hard to resist the temptation to use an excessive number of napkins, or grab items from neighboring tables, just to experience the joy of tossing random garbage into a bucket cut into a hole in the center of the table. I wonder if I could convince my husband to do this at home.
But, as always, I digress.
The waitress took our our orders and tied around our necks bibs that had been scrawled with vaguely dirty sentiments. “I went out for a good time and got crabs” for my better half and “I’m here for the crab facial” for me.
The crab was quite tasty, especially considering that this was an inland location of a chain restaurant. The crab came with corn on the cob and boiled potatoes, both of which I scoffed at because after all, there was CRAB.
At one point during the meal, the seventies classic “Carwash” began playing, and all the servers lined up alone the periphery of the dining room and performed a choreographed dance routine to the music, a pigtailed toddler joining them as well. It was quite fun and when I wondered aloud if they interviewed or auditioned for for jobs here, our daughter responded that it appeared that all you needed to work there was to “be loud and have rhythm.” We suggested she apply.
Oh and my favorite feature in the restaurant was that two big wash-up sinks were provided right in the dining room. If you had ever seen me eat crab (and you won’t) you would understand why.
So, we ended up with a nice meal, two crab pots, an order of fries and 3 soft drinks for under $60. Not bad.
We may have ended up with one or two of their fun tee shirts if it hadn’t been so crowded. Maybe next time.
Word on the street (street = Internet) is that the football strike is over. And there was much rejoicing and jubilant dancing. It looks like the beer and pizza industries will survive another year.
And in other news, it there are rumors that Favre may be coming out of retirement unless someone finds and destroys the rest of the horcruxes.
Medicare may be in worse shape that we thought if the Favre household needs to raise the Brett Ceiling.
Definitely go 3d. The special effects are spectacular. Especially the battle scenes of which there are many.
Don’t count on a quidditch match for a bathroom break, there isn’t one.
Deathly Hallows Part 2 can be enjoyed as a stand alone movie in case you have been holed up in a cave in Afghanistan for the last 10 years or so ago.
The dementors take on a more corporeal form in this film. I preferred when they were more ethereal, but it works well with the 3d.
For optimum enjoyment, see the last movie in preparation.
Hermione is always astonished to realize that Ron is not as dumb as a box of rocks.
Don’t play “got your nose” with Voldemort. It makes him angry. You won’t like him angry.
I have no insights to offer on the death of Amy Winehouse. No glimpses into the addicted psyche. No pithy “what we can learn from this” remarks.
Just sadness at yet another young talent snuffed out too soon. Why is it so hard for so many to live in the spotlight without leaning on drugs or alcohol? And what keeps those who do find balance from falling prey to the same temptations?
Amy Winehouse will be added to the legacy of Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Janis Jophin and so many others whose recorded music is tinged with bittersweetness still.
RIP and God Bless.
Update: I mentioned musicians who also died very young. There is apparently name for this unfortunate group, the The Forever 27 Club. See here for more. Surely coincidence, but sad all the same
I just finished reading Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. I have heard some readers did not enjoy it, regarding Julie as whiny and self-indulgent, but I get her, I really do. Because what better illustrates the dark underbelly of the American Dream than Julie slogging her days away at a grunt job while saving her soul by indulging her creativity at night?
Julie sets out to cook her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. But this project was more than a lark or a method of improving her cooking skills. It was her way of lending structure and meaning to her life. Her day job as a temp secretary at a government agency involved in post 9/11 PR work was both mindless and emotionally draining.
It was one of those all too common jobs that provide no real sense of accomplishment, no volume of completed work that she could point to at the end of the day and say, “I achieved this” or “that is where I left my mark.”
So Julie turned to her project. She single-mindedly attacked one recipe after another, hunting down ingredients and conquering the rigorous mental and physical challenges required to complete one complex recipe after another night after night all while trying to maintain a marriage and a semblance of a social life.
It all reminds me so much of my former colleagues at a tech distributor where I spent much of my career. Working there was certainly more challenging than working a temporary secretarial job. It was, in fact, quite a nice place to work. We were well-compensated, well-trained and had a sort of work hard/play hard mind-set.
But the one thing that I noted is that it was simply loaded with people who were basically financing their dream jobs with their day jobs. There were countless writers, singers, actors, DJs, photographers, dancers, musicians and artists. It was amazing how awesomely talented and creative the work force there was.
So I didn’t see Julie as whiny or self-indulgent. I just saw her as just like the rest of us, trying to balance earning a paycheck with living her dream.
1. Why is a robot wearing a scarf?
2. Why can I never tell the decepticons from the autobots when they battle. They need to wear Jerseys.
3. How does Carly have unlimited wardrobe changes regardless of the perilous situations she finds herself in.
4. And about her car, c’mon! No one saw that coming?
5. Why is Sam’s dating pool limited to Victoria’s Secret models?
Went to the apple store at the mall. K dropped her touch in a clean toilet last week and it hasn’t functioned since.
We took it to the Apple store. It was packed, which is what you would expect of a store full of expensive merchandise in the Rust Belt during a recession. We had to make an appointment for the genius bar about an hour out.
I thought best case, they could repair it and we would be charged. Worst case she could buy herself a new one.
They replaced it.
It was 5 days out of warranty, not that a high dive into the commode
would have been covered in the first place, but how awesome is that.
That is why Apple is successful.
That is why people are willing to pay a premium.
Warped at Darien Lake – always a great show. This year it was unfortunately a little heavy on screamo and light
on ska. I didn’t count, but there were supposed to be 70 bands on 16 stages. It was really hot, but there was s decent breeze which kept it from being miserable.
There were water refilling stations around and the musicians kept reminding people to hydrate. I grabbed a beer when I first got there but could never get through the lines to get back to the concessions again. I doubt that anyone managed to get drunk there because A- it was near impossible to get to the concessions and B- Probably 70% of the audience was underage.
There was also a mind-boggling amount of ink. Apparently there are a lot of people of there who are a lot more comfortable with commitment than I am.
We saw ill Scarlett, my absolute favorite band. They played some new songs as well as old standards like my favorite – Nothing Special. I picked up their 20 Tracks for 5 Bucks That’s Ill CD.
Patent Pending’s lead singer, Joe Ragosta is crazy. He jumped off the stage put his microphone in my concert buddy’s face, made him sing and pushed him in the chest.
He jumped off the stage again later, started running in a big circle around the field and made everyone follow him. So fun. I would definitely see them again. The played their classic Cheer Up Emo Kid and some songs from their new CD Second Family which was released that day.
We saw Big D and the Kids Table – the only true ska band we got to see — also awesome. They were on the main stage under the tent where it was approximately one million degrees .
We wrapped up our day with The Aggrolites.
I was terribly sunburned because while I put on plenty of sunscreen, I kept pouring water down my back because it was so hot and it washed off (duh).
I have missed Warped Tour the last couple of years and it’s really the highlight of my summer, so I was glad to be back.
One of my favorite things about going to concerts is discovering new band. This time around I found a band I had never heard of called Testing for Echo who did an awesome cover of Muse Uprising as well as their own original music.
We were right on the rail for every band except Big D, which is how I got these really great pictures.
My dog is very old, very lethargic and very sedentary. She is mostly blind, completely deaf, arthritic and lumpy. Her favorite activities are sleeping, sighing, panting and nudging your elbow until you pet her.
But late in life, she has discovered shenanigans.
Every morning when we leave for work, leaving her alone for the day, she has been getting into some mischief, not the the normal mischief you would expect from a 14 year old water-fearing golden retriever, like daylight canine raves, or forcing small children to manufacture high-end running shoes. Something odder and more insidious.
These are her food and water bowls when we leave in the morning:
Nice clean water, nice bowl of kibble looking as tasty as kibble can look, but lately, when we return home in the evening, we find this:
The relocated dog dish. I have no idea how she does this without opposable thumbs. But even more disturbing is this:
DOGHENGE!
While this is less annoying than restless dog syndrome*, it’s disturbing nonetheless. Who knows what else she is plotting. And if she had this much time and energy during the day, I really expect that she would whip up a nice stir fry for us to enjoy when we get home from work.
* Restless Dog Syndrome (RDS) a condition in which a dog wanders the house nocturnally while everyone sleeps, panting like a freight train, hoping that someone notices and asks her what is wrong (see sighing). If this doesn’t work the dog barks sharply. After the sleeping homeowners peel themselves off the ceiling they let the dog out into the yard. She then lounges in the grass like Blanche Dobois in a bathtub like she has all the time in the world. The happy homeowner leans on the kitchen counter alternating between sleeping and sobbing with exhaustion.
Ooh Something Shiny! 