And There Are Two

Two of Raleigh’s best restaurants made Southern Living’s Top 100 Restaurants in the South. Poole’s Diner and Stanbury represent the City of Oaks but quite a few other Triangle and Elsewhere, North Carolina restaurants made the list so be sure to check out the list. It took me a long time to grow up and grow out of chain restaurants, but I don’t think I could have picked a better time to jump on the bandwagon. Poole’s Diner is a personal favorite of mine and has long been on my list to write about since starting this site but I can’t land on a narrative. Stanbury was recently recommended to me and I’ve been trying for a while to get out to Chapel Hill to try Lantern. Mmmm, food is good.

(Hat tip: New Raleigh)

O Me! O Life!

My favorite movie of all time is Good Will Hunting. Forgive my ignorance, movie aficionados, but like most sentimental favorites it was the right screenplay, starring the right people, hitting a particular stride at a particular moment in the marathon of my life. Most notable among them was Robin Williams, who previously primarily occupied only the funny bone in my mind’s eye of his collective body of work. Hook, Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Comic Relief specials on HBO and what little memory I have of Mork and Mindy reruns informed my early impression of a performer who would later gain much more of my adoration and respect. I know his early work from Dead Poet Society now, but I did not know it then. I am all the more appreciative today that Apple so elegantly reminded me of it earlier this year.

How apropos that we have such a memory, never more than a quick search away, of such a man reciting the eloquent words of Whitman. Robin Williams, a man who breathed invigorating life into moments subdued and moments electric. He was a man who could take over a scene with “phenomenal cosmic power” or deliver it with the delicacy, and constraint of an “itty bitty living space”. Just give the man the moment, and he contributed his verse. Dear Robin, thank you for being here.

Hair of the Dog

As many of us try to recover from the World Cup hangover there is no greater cure than the Premier League (EPL), which kicks off Saturday, August 16th. With the TV rights migrating to NBC Sports last year there is no reason to miss any of the action as every match is now broadcast on the NBC family of networks. Gone are the days of only seeing United or Arsenal on an early fall morning. You can now look up Leicester City on a map and become a Fox, or become a fan of the club no one knows is in London, Crystal Palace. I am of course a fan of the bandwagon express, Manchester United, due in large part to the fact that when I began watching the Champions League in the late 90’s they were the only team on ESPN. Enough defending my fandom, its time to move on to the season at hand. As you may or may not know, I hate prediction columns, even if I am better than average. There will be plenty of predictions columns out there so I will simply give you the top 4 and the bottom 3 (I’d recommend against selecting a team from the bottom 3)

Top 4

1. Chelsea – They have made some smart buys (Fabergas, Costa, and Luis) and some head scratchers (Drogba on a free), but they have the best manager and weren’t far off last year. The re-signing of Matic should give them some grit in the midfield which is always the fulcrum for the Special One’s special teams.

2. Manchester City – The noisy neighbors lifted the trophy last year and have done nothing to hint at a dip in form. They also have Yaya and as long as he is making his marauding runs through the midfield I will be scared, very scared. I just think Chelsea have done a little more.

3. Arsenal – They have made the most noise in the offseason adding Chile star Alexis Sanchez and Debuchy to provide cover. If they can find a way to sign Sami Khedira, I believe they can challenge for the top 2. Wenger is still a great manager and he always finds a way to play beautiful football.

4. Manchester United – After the unmitigated disaster that was David Moyes 10 month tenure, the crazy Louis Van Gaal takes the helm. He is a nut and will give Mourinho’s ego a run for its money (this guy claimed he was responsible for Argentina’s Sergio Romero making the key penalty saves in the World Cup Semi’s since he coached him in the Netherlands 10 years earlier), but he is quality. Rooney is at the top of his game and they have added Luke Shaw and the one that got away last year in Ander Herrera. These signings along with a couple more that are surely to follow should give United enough to sneak back into the top 4.

Just Missing Out – Liverpool (No Suarez), Tottenham (they are Tottenham), Everton ($45m for Lukaku?)

Bottom 3

While no one wants to be a part of the relegation fight, it often produces some of the year’s best matches. Generally, two of the promoted teams get sucked back down and one will survive to fight in the top flight one more year.

18. Southampton – This is the trickiest of the predictions as I am tipping QPR to stay up at the southern club’s expense. We still don’t know what they will do with the bags of cash they have received from their fire sale, but we know they will have to pay a premium for whatever they buy. It will take time for the team to gel and while the former Dutch star turned manager Ronald Koemen may be a star in the making, it may all be too late.

19. Leicester – Leicester have spent some money and after winning the Championship have the chops to win, but I am not sure it will be enough.

20. Burnley – It is going to be a long year for the Clarets

In order to enhance the experience and keep up with the action, I highly recommend you check out the Men in Blazers and their weekly pod on the Grantland Network as well as all the Guardian’s football coverage including Football Weekly.

The Premier League is a grind, but well worth the follow so pick a team and get the beers in.

Photo Credit: “Stretford End” by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:PeeJay2K3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Stretford_End.jpg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Made by Haand in North Carolina

I always get excited in a weird homer sort of way when I come across a not-local profile of a local business. And bonus points to this profile over on Sprudge because the business, Haand Ceramics, is based in a town I’ve never heard of, Ely Whitney, NC. Here’s a quick bit from the profile about the products:

Pence and Warren use recycled rainwater and eco-conscious practices throughout their line of ceramics, which include dramatic “Cloudware” clay cups, “little footed vessels” for plants, and a portfolio of new work that includes ripple plates, coffee mugs, and a ceramic candelabra.

I’d say there’s about a 95% chance I’ll be adding one of the “Cloudware” mugs to our collection in the very near future.

A Cup that Knows What You’re Drinking

All throughout my life I’ve encountered really cool things, foods, ideas, or activities that are totally ridiculous in some way or another. In an effort to minimize the ridiculous in my life, I dub these “Things I Don’t Need to Know I Like” (or TIDNTKIL for short) and try with all my might to avoid introducing myself to them. What follows is just one example of one such thing.

A few weeks ago, I came across one of those “I just backed this you should too” tweets promoting Vessyl, a cup that magically knows what you pour into it and can track various metrics for you (including things like caffeine, calories, sugar, and protein according to The Verge).

This is exactly the type of gadget that can suck me in and, at $100 off the eventual retail price, the $99 pre-order is extremely tempting. Not to mention, it isn’t too bad to look at either. As of this writing, there are only three days left to get in on the pre-order so I think I’ll be able to weather this storm. But if you’re interested, head on over to the product site and check it out for yourself.

Jawbone Jambox

Big Sound, Little Box

How many activities are exponentially more enjoyable with music playing in the background? Pretty much all of them. And sometimes, headphones just aren’t the right fit for the kind of freedom or atmosphere some activities require. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, this means you have a pretty difficult choice to make: AirPlay or Bluetooth.

I faced this choice a little over a year ago and after going back and forth between Bluetooth and AirPlay, I ultimately landed on Bluetooth. AirPlay, I hear, offers superior sound quality, but at a fairly significant cost and with one primary limitation – most, if not all, options require a shared network. That isn’t exactly the most versatile of options.

With the choice of wireless standard out of the way, there was really only one option on my mind – I went with the original Jambox by Jawbone1. Obviously, I took the easy route, choosing the mainstream, probably overpriced option. That said, I haven’t been disappointed and I use this super portable, great sounding little speaker way more than I ever expected I would.

Headphones are a great option when you need to keep your music to yourself, or when you’re moving from room to room taking care of the household chores and you don’t have whole-house audio throughout. The second best option when library-like silence isn’t required is a wireless portable speaker. I never realized how much I prefer open-air listening until I bought the Jambox, and moving from room to room isn’t terribly inconvenient when the speaker is so small.

But portability doesn’t matter if the little speaker doesn’t have great sound. The Jambox is relatively expensive compared to other available Bluetooth speakers, but while the sound quality isn’t perfect, it packs a big punch.

When I first powered up the Jambox and played some tunes, I remember being impressed the same way I was impressed the first time I heard a Bose Wave radio. I’m not suggesting the sound quality of the Jambox is on par with some of Bose’s hallmark products – I’m no audiophile – but the power and depth of the sound that such a small package could produce astounded me. I have direct experience with one other relatively inexpensive Bluetooth speaker and, side-by-side, the Jambox is well worth the price difference to me.

A few weeks after I first bought the Jambox, I was hanging out with a friend who has a Big Jambox. The Big version is better in almost every way without really sacrificing portability. But I wasn’t quite ready to part with the extra benjamin to get it, especially for my expected uses. My buddy uses it for group gatherings and tailgates – if that’s you, I suggest going Big. If you just need something to throw in the beach bag or move around the house with you as you dance your way through the chores, stick to the little guy2.

If you’re new to the Bluetooth speaker crowd and you were considering a Jambox, I do recommend it. If the price makes you flinch, there are some other options out there that are cheaper and, by some accounts, even better than the Jambox. My only experience is with the Jambox, so I can only speak for it – I haven’t been disappointed one bit – I consume way more music and podcasts, resulting in more fun when taking care of mundane tasks than I ever had before I joined the Bluetooth speaker toting party. That alone is worth the price of admission.

  1. I made this choice before reading – perhaps even before it was written – The Wirecutter’s recommendation.
  2. A few months ago, Jawbone released the Mini Jambox; by all accounts bringing all of the power of the original Jambox, in a slightly smaller package and the added ability to combine two Mini Jambox units for stereo sound.