I seem to have settled back into my "one a month" posting frequency. I've got so many things i'd like to record but just can't find the time. Well, i'll keep struggling.

As i recently wrote in my long dormant album reviews section, Stars have provided the impetus for me to once again write about my musical passion. Albums from Les Savy Fav and the Dodos had stirred my sentiments, but it was the newly released Sad Robots ep that made me feel powerless *not* to write how it made me feel. Have a look.

At the moment i'm sitting in a hotel room in Redondo Beach, relaxing before Kevin and Shioko's wedding this evening. V and i flew down Thursday evening, dumping our unhappy dog at the kennel and hurrying over to our Southwest flight at SFO. We spent the night at Matthew and Dionne's then had a lazy Friday, checking into the hotel and then meeting friends for an unofficial rehearsal dinner at Ciudad downtown. Danny missed dinner but arranged to meet us at La Cita. Perhaps prejudicially of me, i figured it would be a salsa club or the like. It turned out the bar was hosting a "punky reggae party", and spinning some awesome late 70's/early 80's dub, ska, and punk. We danced until closing time then headed back to Redondo Beach.

I had a f@$#ing annoying sequence of events befall me in the past few weeks. Spurred on by California's new "no talking on cell phones while driving" law, i ordered myself the Alpine bluetooth adapter for my car so i could play calls through the stereo and talk on a small microphone mounted on the dash. After receiving it, i made a Saturday morning appointment at Best Buy to get it installed. I dropped off the car, walked over to Starbucks, and read my loaned copy of the Creation Records Story from Gary for a couple of hours. Around noon i got a call saying the car was done, and walked back to pick it up. Upon arriving, the tech informed me "Yeah, it's ready. But it doesn't work." Hrm? I did a web search on my iPhone and learned various installation difficulties of this particular model. We fought with it for a while before i had to leave to help my sister get rid of a couch. I later found the Best Buy numskulls had moved the wiring in my central panel so i could no longer open the cigarette lighter. Grrr. I decided to take my car to a dedicated car audio place to fix both the bluetooth and the wiring, and found one in Redwood City with good reviews. Patrick there did a great job, and my bluetooth is now working great with my iPhone.

Flash forward a week or so, and V and i take her friends Gabriel and Rosa to dinner in the city and then to a club in SoMa with Hakeem. We danced until 3am, then walked back to my Jetta and found someone had smashed the passenger window and made off with my iPod and Rosa's jacket. Our theory is that the thief saw Rosa's jacket in the back seat and figured something was hidden underneath it. After getting in and learning that was incorrect, he raided the glove compartment and took the iPod then absconded. Thankfully he didn't take my new registration sticker, which was sitting on the center console, or Hakeem's laptop which was in the trunk. There's nothing more frustrating than being ready to go home and sleep after a long night of clubbing, and instead having to clean glass out of your car for an hour. Two guys walked by and stopped to sympathize, offering us a swig of their malt liquor that we politely declined. I had a feeling these two were the culprits and had wandered by to survey the fruits of their labor.

This annoyance devoted the beginning of my week to fixing the car. On Monday i had the window replaced, and decided to make an appointment for my 80k service at the dealer in Fremont. Arriving on Tuesday morning, i asked them to also have a look at a piece of the dash next to the stereo that seemed to be coming off. My parents picked me up and we had lunch while i waited. Calling at 1pm, i found they had been looking at the wrong part of the dash. Grr. They however told me the service was almost done, so i had my parents drop my back at the dealer. I waited until 3pm, when the service tech told me the problem with the dash could only be fixed by replacing the whole console. No thanks. He then informed me one of my brake casings was cracked and leaking, so i authorized him to replace it. However, he continued, it was now 3:15pm, and the replacement will take an hour, moving beyond the service department's 4pm closing time, so i would have to leave the car. Oh great. I get to come back tomorrow, and lose more of my week. I got a rental Hyundai and went home, returning the next morning to collect my beloved Jetta. And getting in, i found these boneheads had broken the plastic pocket that sits above the stereo. WTF?! I asked them to replace it, to which the tech responded ok, it'll take another 2 hours. Nope. No way. I went home and looked into how to replace it, accomplishing it the next day. However, in doing this i found that the part of the dash that was coming off was doing so because someone (my guess is the bluetooth installer Patrick) popped it off then used some cheap black putty to fix it back on. The putty had expanded with the heat and was now pushing the piece off. Great. I've scraped most of the putty off, but it looks like i'll need to use epoxy or something similar to glue the piece on.

The other fallout of my car break-in was the loss of my iPod. V ordered me a new one a week later, and it arrived the day of our departure down to LA. Which is good, because not 24 hours after we get back up north, i'm flying off the Nice, France, for the annual molecular imaging meeting. I'd picked up a bunch of movies to watch on the plane in anticipation of the iPod, so that should pass the time well on the 12 hour flight to my connection in Frankfurt. Lots of Jet Li and Chow Yun Fat Hong Kong flicks await me, as well as the Japanese Lord of the Flies adaptation Battle Royale and the next installment of my continuing education on the plight of Africa, Hotel Rwanda. I've been watching the Iraq miniseries Generation Kill on HBO, which depicts an escalating series of "oh, that's messed up" scenarios. If this is how the war has been fought by our military, i'm even more horrified.

Speaking of political displeasure, the more i read about Sarah Palin, the more frightened i become at the prospect of her ultimately becoming President of the United States. A right wing nutjob, chosen as McCain's VP obviously to play to the GOP's misguided claim of being the "party of inclusion", or more immediately to sway voters who would've supported Hillary Clinton. I'm frankly amazed that the Republicans think this is a good idea. I guess they're banking on her solidifying the conservative vote for McCain, who has never been embraced by the far right. Instead, in the week or so she's been the VP candidate she's had bombshells about both her personal life and her political career. I can only imagine how much mileage the conservatives would've gotten out of it had Obama's teenage daughter been pregnant, but now they're claiming Palin's family as off-limits. Then there's her complete lack of experience, making Obama look like George H.W. Bush in his pedigree. I guess the GOP figures that since Obama is claiming he has enough experience to be president, Palin can claim the same. Instead, they effectively took one of their most effective arguments against the Democratic off the table through their choice of running mate. With any luck this will seal the election for Obama/Biden, although my pessimism has got me shuddering at the thought of listening to this conservative looney for the next four years as my vice president.

Unfortunately V can't accompany me to Europe because of work, but i still took an extra three days to see the south of France. Given my vices, the first thing i thought of doing was seeing a soccer match. French champions Lyon are playing a few hours north of Nice, but unfortunately on the last day of my meeting. I then saw that Italian giants AC Milan were playing in Genoa the day after the meeting, and found that the venue is a mere two hours drive from my hotel. I set about finding a ticket, and stumbled across a ticket broker site that could help me, albeit for a relatively exorbitant price. Unfortunately after placing my order i learned that the way these sites work is they take orders, then go try to find a ticket. AC Milan are a huge draw now that they've got Shevchenko back and just signed former "best player in the world" Ronaldinho, so my broker kept telling me he would confirm my ticket "tomorrow". After a week i gave up and canceled, which he did without an argument. He gave me some good advice about ticket security in Italy, which explains his difficulty in getting the ticket. In the meantime V had convinced Gary to go out to Europe with me, and we decided to try instead to go to see another monster Serie A squad Juventus take on Udinese in Turin. Another ticket broker site gave me better results, although they needed a wealth of information from me in order to complete the rigorous ticket security process. But now Gary and i will be going on an adventure from Nice to Turin next Sunday morning (projected to be a three hour drive), cheering on the bianconeri with the rabid Italian fans. Should be a blast.

V and i have been going to the movies with good regularity recently. On the opening night of the Olympics we instead went to downtown Redwood City for the most recent Apatow offering Pineapple Express. I thought it was hilarious, Veronica merely ok. We both agreed that James Franco was fabulous as the spaced out, dimwitted but loyal pot dealer. The following week we met up with Kevin and co. for an ad hoc bachelor party, beginning with a showing of Tropic Thunder at the Metreon. We were dying through the flick, from the uproarious opening trailers for the stars of the movie within the movie to the finale. And the next week we finally saw the Dark Knight in IMAX, still selling out over a month after its release. I think the Batman installment edged Iron Man for the film of the summer, although i'm partial to the dark, brooding tones of the dark knight, and particularly the brilliant performance of the late Heath Ledger as the psychotic Joker. On Saturday of Labor Day weekend we had a nice relaxing dinner with friends Frank and Jennifer before checking out Bottle Shock, telling the tale of a winery in Napa in the 70's challenging the French wine establishment in a blind tasting. The story (based on reality) is a compelling one, but is not told with any great skill or cohesion. One character, Rico from Six Feet Under, has a subplot that basically just ends with no resolution. Oh well.

Chelsea have begun the season reasonably well, with two wins and a draw form three matches putting them even with rivals Manchester United. The big news of the past week was the close of the transfer window, with the Blues expecting to complete the protracted signing of Brazilian Robinho from Real Madrid. Instead, Manchester City, ultrawealthy after being acquired by an Arab investment group, swooped in at the 11th hour to bid Madrid's asking price while Chelsea haggled. A few hours later and Robinho had signed with the other Manchester club. They're now in the midst of an Abramovich-esque rehaul, threatening to raid the transfer market with outrageous bids for all-world superstars come January. I would've liked to have seen Robinho reunited with new Blues coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, but there is some satisfaction in Chelsea avoiding getting skinned in yet another transfer. Maybe Gary's team will now take all the heat for being nouveau riche.

One thing i don't understand is people like Rafa Benitez and Ryan Giggs assuming City are now part of the elite. Chelsea didn't win a trophy until two years after Roman began throwing his money around. Furthermore, Abramovich bought a wealth of expensive players from his first summer in charge, while City have now acquired just one that can be considered world class. And, as Chelsea learned, there's no guarantee a world class player with experience on the continent will excel in the fast-paced and physical English game. Let's wait to see if City can shed their inconsistent nature prior to crowning them the new power in the Premiership.

Time to prepare for Kevin and Shioko's big event. Will write soon. Love, Ted.