Erik’s Essentials: 4/20/12

1) Genghis Grill

I love stir fry. Absolutely love it. This place is like the Buffalo Wild Wings equivalent of a stir fry place. Put all kinds of stuff into a bowl and have it cooked up for you. My dish included crab, scallops, chicken, more veggies than I can remember, stir fry sauce, chile garlic sauce, and a slew of spices.

I highly recommend it.

2) Cabin in the Woods

Not a bad movie – Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly) co-wrote it. Anyone who loves the classic 80s chiller/horror movies will appreciate this. The movie really is a puzzle and criticism of the horror genre today.

I walked away from this movie feeling a bit freaked out.

3) “Mother” by New Terrors

I like M83, I like shoegaze, I like Burke Sullivan.

 

 

Ladykiller Recipes: Peppery clam chowder over garlic cheese biscuits + salad

“Ladykiller Recipes” gives you tips for a perfect, cheap meal to impress that special someone.

The words “men” and “cook” don’t often go together, save for the phrases “men should cook more often” or “men don’t how to/can’t cook.” As dudes, we prefer eating the food as opposed to spending all of that time and effort making it. Hence, a steady diet of instant noodles, frozen pizza, beer and turkey sandwiches.

It’s time for that to change.

My time as a house husband of sorts has been beneficial in a few ways, one being that I’ve picked up cooking. So, I (and anyone who wants to join) will be giving you easy and cheap recipes to impress your girl.

This week: Peppery New England clam chowder over garlic cheese biscuits with a side salad.

Erik’s Essentials: 4/13/12

Happy Friday the 13th! Here’s what got me through the week.

1) Regular Show

I just started watching this a few weeks ago. Oh. My. Heart. There are TV shows that you watch to pass time, and there are shows you simply must see. Regular Show is one of them.

Twentysomethings Mordecai (a blue jay) and Rigby (a raccoon) fight the humdrum of working at a park by not working (duh) and having a good time. Throw in a gumball machine for a boss, a skipping gorilla voiced by Mark Hamill, a huge-headed English gent, some dumpy muscle guy and a hi-five ghost.

This is a project I wish my friends and I made.

2) AMC movies with ‘Story Notes’

As a dude, I enjoy a good movie. And I enjoy trivia. Combine the two, and I am in heaven. Being a Story Notes writer would be so awesome. I recently watched Kindergarten Cop and The Birdcage with notes, and life is so much better.

3) Star Wars

I recently got my N64 up and running, playing Rogue Squadron often. Mmmmm

Check it: Never Better, by P.O.S.

“Check it” is an ongoing series highlighting the good things in life.

I know virtually nothing about rap or hip-hop—I’m white and the extent of my exposure to this type of music included Vanilla Ice’s “Go Ninja”‘ DC Talk’s first album and rap-rock albums like Pillar’s “Above”or P.O.D.’s “Fundamental Elements of Southtown.”

As a drummer, I like hearing drums or, at least, good beats that sound good. Musicians like to hear good music and, for a long time, I’ve had trouble hearing music in it all—just the same three chords over and over and over.

Then I came across Never Better from Minneapolis-based P.O.S. (after Travis from VGR continually pushed it on me for weeks) and started to get a better understanding of it all.

Simply put: Heavy-hitting, smooth-sounding, free-flowing lyrics and music about being poor, giving a damn and making a difference. Also: Big Lebowski and Law & Order references.

It’s “music to skateboard to.”

Bandcamp best of: Milwaukee

“Bandcamp best of:” is an ongoing series to find cool bands on bandcamp.com by way of tags.

The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin needs no introduction: Alice Cooper filled us in on its history in Wayne’s World ( The name “Milwaukee” comes from an Algonquian word, Millioke, meaning “The Good Land”), beer comes from it and Arthur Fonzarelli called it home.

Don’t forget the Brewers, Bucks, Wave or Admirals, which has an awesome logo:

That said, follow the jump for solid tunes!

Erik’s Essentials: 4/06/12

This “Essentials” spans a couple of weeks, just so you know.

 1) Durham, NC

I took a “Spring Break” recently involving North Carolina and Indiana. The first leg involved staying with my buddy Cam, who goes to Duke University. Durham is an interesting place, and the first place we went was to the revitalized former Lucky Strike factory. Totally badass: The water tower and chimney with the Lucky Strike logo remain, though the “factory” is now businesses, shops and restaurants with a cool creek running through it all.

Cam. Photo by his fiancee, Bethany.

Downtown Durham is a good example of restoring “what was,” to some degree. I can’t even imagine what it was like in the hey-day of cigarette production.

Cam also took me to The Q Shack, which is a bbq joint with the most amazing hush puppies. I didn’t even like bbq until I went. Dip the pups in some honey butter, you’ll be a believer.

There was also a beer store down the road called Sam’s Quick Shop, which let you have a nice beer (and keep the glass) for $5 to drink while you decide what to buy.

 2) Country music

Being in the South, this makes sense. The full-blown fan status, however, happened somewhere around the West Virginia/Ohio border. With hits like this, “Fly Over States” (also by Jason Aldean, which mentions Indiana),  “A Woman Like You”  by Lee Brice or “Why Don’t We Just Dance” by Josh Turner not to mention my upbringing with Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw’s “Don’t Take the Girl,” country music strikes a special chord in me. Today’s music ain’t half bad either: I would love to play drums in a band like that.

Country music speaks of women, drinking, working and playing; it says that life is hard and love is work; but most importantly, it says to be true to yourself and things will turn out they way you want them to, eventually.

Oh, and beer. Lots of beer.

 3) Titus Andronicus

My love affair with this band started roughly last fall, and “The Monitor” has been playing in my truck nonstop for awhile. I finally got their first album, “The Airing of Grievances,” on vinyl from VGR recently and love it. They are the band I wanted to form and play drums in. Still are.

Watching that Civil War documentary and picking up on all of the quotes + meanings was cool. I recently attempted to get snag an interview with them, but they’re on tour at the moment.

Check out the Youtube doc on the making of The Monitor here.

They take New Jersey state pride seriously, which I dig. They are my second favorite NJ band—Saves the Day being No. 1, of course.

Who Is: Nate Henricks

“Who Is:” is an ongoing interview series highlighting cool people.

Photo by: Angie Schoenherr

Nate Henricks is a bit of a myth in the Midwest: Many people have heard of him, been fortunate to see him play music or just hang with him at the local Pizza Hut. A Nate Henricks sighting, however, is a rare thing to some and should be taken with gratitude.

Nate is a unique musician, the kind that seems to always be cranking out solid tunes made in his bedroom or parents’ house or whatever shelter he’s inhabiting these days.

His newest album, “NTH MERIDIAN,” came out at the start of this year.

Guest Essentials: Shawn Fink

Everyone’s favorite mustachioed motorcycle enthusiast, Shawn Fink, sent in these awesome essentials. Check out his eye candy tumblr here. Shawn is a man’s man and a rad dude. Thanks, Shawn! – Erik

Its spring again, the temperatures are warming up, the sun is shining, and that means my motorcycles are coming out of their winter dormancy. Being that my newest is more than 40 years old, it always takes a bit to “encouragement” and fiddling to get them going after sitting idle for so many months. But when they do get going, the bug to ride them always gets me. Even if it is 45 degrees outside.

1) Wool

Wool is one of the first textiles that humans created, having been in widespread use by 1500BC. A good wool sweater is something every guy should have. It’s long lasting when taken care of, it lends itself well to layering, and it’s super warm. It’s also, for the most part, wind resistant which is good for me. My favorite sweater is from Gap and wasn’t expensive at all.

2) Canvas

Canvas is another one of my favorite materials. It’s natural, it’s light, its flexible, it’s hard wearing, and it’s been in use since the 13th Century. I have a waxed canvas jacket that has all but replaced heavy winter jackets for me. It’s just a windproof shell that lets me layer under it appropriately. Cold and snowy outside? A wool sweater keeps me warm, and the canvas jacket keeps me dry. Cool but sunny March day? A flannel shirt and the jacket are all that’s needed to keep the chilly wind at bay. I like it for motorcycling duties because of its windproof characteristics and because it doesn’t look at all biker-ish. Kinda like Steve McQueen’s Belstaff jacket.

3) A Good Watch

Seeing as I haven’t been able to enjoy any of my bikes in four months or so, it’s easy for me to lose track of time when it’s finally warm enough to take them out. I always carry my phone the right front pocket of my jeans, which presents a problem when im out and about and need to know what time it is. Enter the good ‘ole watch. With it, I can see what time it is without my hands ever leaving the handlebars. I have a Timex Weekender. I think it looks great, especially for its price range. Most $20 watches end up so overdesigned that they look cheap. Not so with the Weekender.

4) Rayban Clubmasters

First designed in the 1930s, Clubmaster sunglasses are one of the few pairs of sunglasses that can’t be nailed to a specific period of popularity. Unlike Wayfarer’s, which were popular in the ‘80s, faded out, then came back with a vengeance in the past few years, Clubmasters have always been a quiet classic. A tortoise shell pair always makes me think of the ones that JFK wore. And that automatically makes them cool.

5) Mule Roper Gloves

They fit tight to my hands, are thin enough that my fingers can still be dexterous, and are breathable enough that my hands don’t sweat. The mule leather is much stronger than regular cowhide, which is what allows the gloves to be so thin. They’re also much cheaper than actual “motorcycle gloves”, and I think they fit the aesthetic of my old bikes much better than anything else on the market. Use will eventually mold them to your hands, but getting them a bit damp over a pot of boiling water and letting them dry on your hands speeds this process up greatly.

Erik’s Essentials: 03/16/12

1) Reggie

This is my new best friend. He is a total chill bud and always down to cuddle. Why spend hundreds on a pet store pet when you can rescue one for cheap? His eyes are real buggy and he kneads all of the time.

2) Shelby Foote/Ken Burns’ Civil War/History

As you can tell, I’m on a history kick. My Nana and Papaw Felton are history buffs, so this is just one of many good traits I’ve inherited from them. The writer Shelby Foote is featured in the PBS documentary (on Netflix!) extensively and has awesome quotes + anecdotes. Plus his voice is so cooool.

Listen

Perhaps the greatest quote of his:

Any understanding of this nation has to be based, and I mean really based, on an understanding of the Civil War. I believe that firmly. It defined us . . . And it is very necessary, if you are going to understand the American character in the twentieth century, to learn about this enormous catastrophe of the mid-nineteenth century. It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads.

America is one to romanticize wars and the Civil War is no exception. Something that strikes a particular chord in all of us is that friends fought friends, students fired upon their instructors and different regions across the country played unimaginable roles.

The surprising and crucial fight between the 15th Alabama and 20th Maine at Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg is particularly interesting – the town of Gettysburg is practically dead center between the two states.

Being in The South and learning of the War and having the opportunity to see numerous battlegrounds (something I’ve always wanted to do is see as many sites as possible) is exciting. Plus, Davidson County is (I think) the land of the Fox clan, so I’m going to start some genealogy work when I get there.

The little joys in life: Battleground at Mossy Creek

Have you ever experienced one of those moments that are purely coincidental and bring a smile to your face because of it?

It happened to me today, just a half-mile from where I am (temporarily) living in Tennessee.