Let's Go Out Tonight Like It's Last Year

Despite my semi-retirement from the Memphis music scene, I couldn't resist partaking in at least a fringe element of this year's Folk Alliance conference. I missed all the official conference showcases, but I think I may have ended up at one of the best shows of the week regardless. I skipped out of cocktail hour early and walked into Otherlands last Friday night feeling strangely light, as if an 18-pound weight had been lifted from my arms (thanks, Sassy-Urfs!). After using the last of my agent credit to slide Steph and me in for free, I immediately bumped, quite literally, into Jimmy, a very patient semi-former client, and spent the rest of the evening running into my favorite folkies at every turn. The show itself was a collection of local and out-of-town FA conference attendees, hand-picked by Cory who did a highly impressive job of pulling talented and engaging musicians from the halls of the Marriott. The most talented and engaging, of course, being my former high school and college classmate, TAFKA John Mayer, currently performing as John Elliott/The Hereafter. He only played three songs, just like all the other guests, but his part in the show felt so much bigger because of his grotesquely overgrown awesomeness. I want to bust in two when I see him play, I'm so proud of him.

The evening came to a relatively early close for me (causing me to miss Blair and any of the secret guests still to come), but still, as one of my few babyless ventures out in the last eight months, it was a simply wonderful night.

Food, Glorious Food!

Not to flail at an already mortally wounded horse, but since it's been mentioned both in person and in print, I follow up my previous list with The Quite Brief List Of My Favorite Foods and Best Meals Ever.

1. a bowl of in-season Bing cherries
2. parmesan-and-mustard-encrusted pork chop at the original incarnation of Marena's
3. gnocchi in pesto at Bella Arte in Hot Springs, AR
3a. really, any form or nationality of dumpling, from pierogi to ravioli to shumai
4. bean and cheese burrito with the magical pseudo-mole sauce from Chi Chi's
5. banana pancakes with peanut butter syrup at Blue Plate Cafe
6. lamb shwarma with a side of hummus and extra pita, pretty much anywhere it's offered
7. chocolate chocolate chocolate
8. virtually any dessert not containing the words "flaky pastry crust" or "coffee"
9. a rare sirloin with spinach salad, au gratin potatoes (I know!) and buttered sourdough, ideally at my parents' table
10. Kristy's lasagna, delivered hot to my table when I was 11 months pregnant

Get Yourself An Egg And Beat It

Inspired by Sassy (because that's a nicer reason than saying she ripped off my idea in the first place), what follows is The List of Foods Normal People Eat But Which I Will Avoid If Given The Option and Would Happily Go The Rest Of My Life Without Eating.

1. any member of the squash family
2. baked, mashed or hash-browned potatoes
3. raw tomato, or any cooked chunk larger than a dime
4. saffron
5. bell peppers
6. jalapeno peppers
7. chili peppers
8. you get the idea
9. cucumbers
10. lettuce in condiment form
11. raw onion
12. cole slaw
13. mushrooms
14. whatever Sloppy Joes are made out of
15. tuna
16. and pretty much any other fish
17. whipped cream
18. anything "blackened" or in any way charred, deliberately or otherwise
19. pastry dough
20. celery
21. watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, etc.
22. capers
23. cocktail sauce