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pizzicato five RULE ... this picture is from pizzicato five's a television's workshop e.p. (only available as a pricey import :( sadness) ... the lyrics are equally hilarious, especially on the track "shakitori".

i've been meaning to post something about how ridiculous this 87 billion dollars for iraq is. anyway, here's a link to a petition that summarizes all the reasons why bush sucks.

here's a pic for winnie:

speaking of the shins ... did you know james mercer wrote music for a gap ad?? the commercial had no less than that ashton kid. you can find it here. also, on sep 23rd a new shins EP is coming out, followed by an LP in late october, plus a likely tour around then (inc. another concert at the bowery) ... whoo! in other news, my latest pop culture adventure has been all about mary kate and ashley olsen (or MKA to fans). i forget what this was originally sparked by, oh i think it was seeing a pic of them at the MTV VMA awards. anyway, this article has a great quote:

Our new Gameboy color game, "The New Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley" will be coming out this May; and our first Playstation game, "Magical Mystery Mall" will be out next fall. We're really excited about that!

some gossip, courtesy of the new york post

During a limo ride last week, one of them reportedly blurted, "Alcohol tastes just like water!"

and some analysis, courtesy of the onion: Mary-Kate Olsen Is Dragging Ashley Down

Mary-Kate lacks charisma. That elusive quality is vital to a performer, yet Mary-Kate is almost completely devoid of it. With her vanilla features and expressionless, fish-eyed gaze, one must wonder why this singularly untalented waif was ever placed before a camera. Case in point: In 1995's "The Case Of The Sea World Adventure," from the direct-to-video children's mystery series The Adventures Of Mary-Kate And Ashley, Mary-Kate delivers such lively and toothsome lines as, "The pearl necklace must be in that bucket of bait... yecch!" with about as much élan as a TV agribusiness reporter delivering the day's livestock quotes. If she required guidance or inspiration, she need only have turned to Ashley, whose unmasking of the jewel thief was as suspenseful as the climax to any classic 1940s film noir. "Trenchcoat Twins," indeed.

... okay, i'll stop now.

eating in san francisco was largely disappointing. first off, green's was pretty good. andy had a salad and the ravioli which came in a tasty sauce although the pasta itself was nothing special. to start i had corn "griddlecakes" which ended up being eggy instead of flour-based as i thought the word "griddlecake" would imply. they were good, though. for my entree i had a stuffed peppers dish, and, like andy's dish, the peppers themselves were completely nondescript while the innards, which included pumpkin seeds, were quite tasty. the dish came with a few new potatoes and some kale. the food itself wasn't bad, but our waiter was probably the worst andy and i have ever had. it took him way too long to even come by to take our order and more than 15 minutes to bring our drinks after that and then once our food came he didn't bother coming back until we were finished. by that time andy was so fed up he didn't bother ordering another glass of wine and we didn't feel like sticking around for dessert. it was especially odd b/c he seemed to be extremely chatty to this teenage or a little older couple next to us whom he clearly didn't know. we talked to "andreas" (heh) the manager who was very apologetic, but all in all i don't know if i'd bother going back. other than that the only other notable eating experience was at a place called nirvana in the castro. i'm not sure if it's a national chain, but it's a surprisingly solid pan-asian place. i had some noodles which ended up being super spicy (always a good sign) and pretty good. the appetizer plate was also surprisingly good; their renditions of such asian foods as samosas and egg rolls weren't too far off the mark. our waiter there was very cool ... one of those people who just radiate chillness. pretty good ambience out on the back patio (heated forunately). andy found the bar he liked from the last time he was in SF called the red room which was great. pretty good music, good ambience, nice decor, mostly chill crowd. nearish powell st i think and def. recommended.