JP Stinker Butt

"Paws up" for Timmay's Summer Mix!

Summer Mix 2006 - Results

The results are in for the Summer Mix Contest 2006 (see Summer Mix 2006), and I came out on top again this year. Although ol' Lazy Acres disagrees with the judging panel and feels "there should be a recount." I think he's just trying to pull me into his craziness with his rantings, but as they say... what will be, will be. I'm happy to post the playlist of the other two mixes and let the readers decide. I will definitely showcase the winning Summer Mix at this weekend's Big 40. Don't know about the Big 40? A bunch of my friends from high school (and yours truly) all turned 40 this year and we're gathering for a long weekend of drinking and assorted dopiness -- there ya go.

Below are the Summer Mix Contest playlists:

Lazy Acres' Summer Mix 2006
1) North Mississippi All-Stars "Shake Me Down"
2) North Mississippi All-Stars "Po Black Maddie/Skinny Woman/Po Black Maddie"
3) Blue Dogs "Walter"
4) Widespread Panic "And It Stoned Me"
5) Lynrd Skynrd "Sweet Home Alabama"
6) The Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies "Backwoods Travelin'"
7) The Black Crowes "Hotel Illness"
8) Derek and the Dominos "Have You Ever Loved a Woman"
9) Wilson Pickett "Hey Jude"
10) Kathleen Edwards "Back to Me"
11) Blues Traveler "Mountain Cry"
12) Gov't Mule "Soulshine"

DJ Blanco's Summer Mix 2006
1. Hot Fun in the Summertime - Sly and the Family Stone
2. Good Times - Chic
3. Everybody Loves the Sunshine - Roy Ayers
4. Summer Breeze - The Isley Brothers
5. Golden Time of Day - Frankie Beverly and Maze
6. I Want You - Marvin Gaye
7. Day Dreaming - Aretha Franklin
8. Groovin' - The Rascals
9. Paradise - Sade
10. Strawberry Letter #23 - The Brothers Johnson
11. A Long Walk - Jill Scott
12. Seven Days in Sunny June - Jamiroquai
13. Too Hot - Kool & The Gang
14 Summer Soft - Stevie Wonder

Timmay's Summer Mix 2006
Fantastic Voyage - Coolio
Low Rider - War
What I Got - Sublime
Mysterious Ways - U2
Feelin' Alright - Joe Cocker
Lively Up Yourself (Live) - Bob Marley and the Wailers
Hurts So Bad (Live) - John Legend
She's Hooked - Soulive and Reggie Watts
Romantic - Goapele and Soulive
Roadhouse Blues (Live) - The Doors
Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Slow Ride - Foghat
Rodeo Clowns - G. Love and Special Sauce
Band of Gold - Anna Nalick
Give It Time - Eric Lindell
Fool in the Rain - Led Zepplin
Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - John Legend
Stay (Wasting Time) - Dave Matthews Band
Stitched Up - Herbie Hancock and John Mayer

New Location Search - Day 2

No, that's not the new location for Lago's Lounge. One of the houses we looked at today had an in-ground pool and chickens in the backyard. It was the last house we looked at today, which turned out to be #7. We did some adjustment to our realtor's search and tried to focus in on the type of houses and locations we're really interested in.

One of our favorites so far was the second house we looked at today.

It needs some work, but has lots of pluses including a very large master bedroom with a big tub and shower.

There are some others on our favorites list, but they have their pluses and minuses as well, and of course some of the pluses and minuses revolve around the price. House #6 was another one we liked some things about, I think mostly I like this picture of Lago helping me take note that we were at the 6th house today.


This one was on a cul de sac with extra land on the side that was empty and could be purchased with the house. Not sure if Lago's Lounge needs all that, but if the price is right why not have lots of room at the ol' Lounge, eh?

We're still not at a decision point and we have some time. So we'll see where the next few weeks take us. I'll be back down to start work in a couple weeks and Lago will join me a week after for the DMB concert.

BTW... for those in the know, the big NASCAR 600 race was today in Charlotte. This was as close as I got to the race. We had great seats, huh?!


Well, tomorrow it's back to Lago's Lounge and look for my next report from wild and woolly West Virginny at the Big 40. See you then.

New Location Search - Day 1

We just got back to the hotel from Day 1 of our search for Lago's Lounge new location in Charlotte. We looked at 11 houses today -- two were immediately disqualified from the search due to smoking. The stench of cigarette smoke hit you as soon as you went inside -- yuck! The whole house wreaked of it. Both places were actually very nice and in great neighborhhods, but with the stinking cigarette smoke it's no deal. Let that be a lesson to you smokers out there -- not only do you have poor health, but non-smokers aren't gonna buy your stinky homes.

We did see some nice places in nice neighborhoods, one even had an in-ground pool and a hot tub in the backyard. The last house we saw was a real fixer-upper, but would be livable while you made renovations.

I was pleasantly surprised on our drive last night that we didn't hit more traffic (or Northeast-style traffic) coming down on the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend. We made great time and had a chance to look up some things online before calling it a night.

We have about 11 more places to look at tomorrow. We have some places we like, but we want to see everything before we start to really narrow it down. As for tonight, we're hitting the town for dinner and drinks and what have you. Right now Lago is napping and I may join her before getting ready to go out.

BTW... that's the realtor's mini-van in the photos.

On the Move

Yes friends, bloggers and strangers... Lago's Lounge is on the move this summer to a yet undiscovered location in Charlotte, NC. That's right, I may have to change the photo at the top of this blog once the new site for Lago's Lounge is found, but for now I'll leave it as is. Things are happening fast around here and there will be more details to come. But, as I draw the last sip from my Corona (before getting another) I'm looking forward to our new location and a gathering of old (and I do mean old) friends coming up soon. We still have our DMB trips planned this year, although most of them will take place in Sept. There's one DMB trip coming up in June with our usual stop in Northern Va. Damn there's a lot of traveling coming up - oi, momma mia! Am I the first to use those two expressions together, nah can't be. Anyways, here's to new beginnings... that's goofy -- can you have "old beginnings"? Pish posh man, end this post so I can grab another cerveza! So there you have it -- hasta lasagna, don't get any on ya.

I Knew It

I knew it wouldn't take long to find out who one the latest Survivor. I was watching my daily dose of Robin Meade on CNN Headline News this morning and wham -- just blurted it out, I never saw it coming. I'll probably still watch it even though I wanted Terry to win.

We DVR-ed Survivor in favor of watching The Sopranos (HBO) and Huff (Showtime). For those of you poor souls who get sucked into watching "Big Love" on HBO following The Sopranos, I feel sorry for you. I attempted one episode and I found almost every character annoying, click channel switched. "Huff" is great and I can't wait for "Weeds" to return with new episodes this summer.

Sangria

Well, here I am! It's Lago. I have to say from the beginning that I usually don't have too much to say, unless I get really excited about something. So, don't expect to hear from me too much.
Timmay suggested I post my Sangria recipe since he likes it so much. I must caution the reader/drinker. This is a STRONG recipe, so if you don't like strong, I'll list the alternatives.

*****1 bottle of Sweet Red wine of choice - We like Rapidan River Sweet red or Chateau Morrisette--1 liter

*****1 cup white rum
*****1 cup Triple Sec
*****1golden delicious apple---chopped in chunks
*****1 Granny Smith Apple---chopped in chunks
*****1 large juicy orange cut in half----slice 1/2 of the orange
*****optional***gingerale to taste---about 1 to 1and 1/2 cups
***** If you don't like strong drinks then add 1/2 cup rum and 1/2 cup triple sec ******with 1 cup orange or cranberry juice.*********

In 2 quart container mix the bottle of wine, rum and triple sec and mix well
In your Sangria server place the chopped/sliced fruit
Add the liquid portion to the Sangria server. Squeeze the juice of the 1/2 orange into the mix followed by the ginger ale (if you feel it's needed).
Stir well.
Let sit in the fridge overnight to allow the juices to mix and the fruit to absorb the liquid.

Quite honestly, if I use the amount of alcohol I have listed I end up using just about a cup of diet ginger ale and no additional OJ.
I especially love to eat the fruit about 2 days later!! Sometimes I use peaches or grapefruit or melon....use whatever you like!!

Enjoy!!

Summer Mix 2006

This is the second year now we've had a Summer CD Mix competition at work. I think it's kind of funny seeing as any mix no matter it's CD, tape, iTunes playlist, what have you, is very subjective. At least for me, I make a mix around a theme like summer or Christmas or Halloween, but I also gear it for Lago and myself and maybe what I think other people might enjoy. There certainly won't be any country music in any of my mixes -- hold a gun to my head, not gonna do it. The point is that I think it's kind of funny to have a competition around something that's somewhat personal and depends on a person's likes and tastes. As far as judging a mix, either someone will like it or they won't, you'd get a very watered down mix if you try to please everyone.

The reason this Summer Mix competition began, I think, because I'm always making mix CDs to play at work and every year I make a Summer Mix. My co-workers hear them and they like them for the most part, but like anyone -- myself included -- when you hear a mix you have your own preferences of what song you think should go next.

Our competition involves three of us, to protect their identities, I'll call the others Mix A and Mix B. We came up with a set of rules, such as there is no limit to the number of songs you can use, but the mix must be on a single 700 MB CD. We agreed on three judges, also co-workers but who do not work in the same proximity of myself and Mix A and Mix B. The songs don't necessarily have to be about the summer, but the mix is meant to evoke a feeling of summer -- basically a CD mix one would listen to on a summer day or evening.

Here is my track list for this year's competition:

Fantastic Voyage - Coolio
Low Rider - War
What I Got - Sublime
Mysterious Ways - U2
Feelin' Alright - Joe Cocker
Lively Up Yourself (Live) - Bob Marley and the Wailers
Hurts So Bad (Live) - John Legend
She's Hooked - Soulive and Reggie Watts
Romantic - Goapele and Soulive
Roadhouse Blues (Live) - The Doors
Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Slow Ride - Foghat
Rodeo Clowns - G. Love and Special Sauce
Band of Gold - Anna Nalick
Give It Time - Eric Lindell
Fool in the Rain - Led Zepplin
Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - John Legend
Stay (Wasting Time) - Dave Matthews Band
Stitched Up - Herbie Hancock and John Mayer

Timmay's Summer Mix 2006 - iTunes Playlist
A couple substitutions were made for the playlist because the original tracks are not available on iTunes.

I usually put in some sound effects, but don't over do it, and I usually cross-fade the tracks into one another, if appropriate. This year I put some sound effects from "Independence Day" in the opening and "Fantastic Voyage" fades up under an explosion sound effect. I only had one other sound effect, I had a car door closing and the car starts up at the beginning of "Low Rider."

Last year, I tried to tell a story with the mix about a relationship between a man and a woman as they travel from place to place, sometimes together, sometimes alone. This year, I just went with how the songs sounded next to each other. A couple tracks respond to the one before it, but no storyline.

The voting began this past Friday and all votes must be in by May 30. I had the winning mix last year, here's my track list from 2005:

Come Fly with Me - Frank Sinatra
New York City (Remix) - The Peter Malick Group with Norah Jones
Young Americans - David Bowie
Wild Wood - Paul Weller
Gonna Move - Susan Tedeschi
Sweet Home Chicago - Eric Clapton
Only Flame in Town - Elvis Costello
Jet Lag - Joss Stone
Never Been to Spain - Three Dog Night
Dixie Chicken - Little Feat
Satisfy My Soul - Bob Marley and the Wailers
Into the Mystic - Van Morrison
The Hand That Feeds - NIN
Vertigo - U2
Tush - ZZ Top
So Right - Dave Matthews Band
Rosalita - Bruce Springsteen
Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
New York City - Delbert McClinton
Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darrin

Timmay's Summer Mix 2005 - iTunes Playlist
Again, had to make a substitution because one of the tracks is not on iTunes, and one track is missing completely.

With the "travel" theme I used, I had a plane sound effect that I used three times in the mix -- once at the beginning (at the end of "Come Fly with Me"), once in the middle (at the end of "Jet Lag"), and once at the end (at the end of "Dock of the Bay").

I also used an ocean waves sound effect at the beginning of "Wild Wood." Going from "Into the Mystic" to "The Hand That Feeds," I used the ocean waves sound effect that merged into the theme from "Jaws" – I also included the line "We're gonna need a bigger boat" in the middle of "The Hand That Feeds" and had the shark explosion at the end which cross-faded nicely into "Vertigo."

At the end of "Gonna Move" I used a train sound effect from "North by Northwest" -- which even has a train announcement about Chicago -- that cross-fades into "Sweet Home Chicago."

My mixes tend to be whatever I'm listening to at the time or what's going on, like last year we made a trip to Chicago, and whatever new songs are out. I also include the old songs that just need to be there.

Last year Mix A had a real good mix. He started out with "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and went well from there, until he put in "Whipping Post" by the Allman Brothers. I'm sorry, that song does not belong in a summer mix. "Statesboro Blues" by the Allmans, now that’s a killer song.

Mix B last year, had a mix of only new songs. That's a good idea, but he had some clunkers in there.

I'm not saying someone's going to look at my track list and say -- what rubbish! I'm sure someone will, but I like it and when all is said and done -- if you like your mix than that's all you need. I'll post an update at the end of the month with the results of this year's competition.

This year, Mix A's mix had nothing but Blues songs, perfect for grilling and cocktails on a summer afternoon or evening. Mix B tried to tell a story kind of like what I did last year. His mix was a bit on the melancholy side and after listening all the way through, I felt a little sad. It was an OK mix, but I don't like sad music -- I don't know 'cause it makes me feel sad.

My New Movie

This morning I came up with an idea for a new movie, a western. It's called "Dances with Cocoa Puffs." It'll be the feel good movie of the summer.

I'm also working on another idea, this one would be a big summer blockbuster, you know, a big-time caper movie, an edge-of-your-seat thriller, mystery. It's called "The Apple Jacks Gang."

No wait, there was that old Don Knotts movie "The Apple Dumpling Gang" -- dagnabbit! Forget it, let me eat my Alpha-Bits in peace.

I Been Stupified

Is it just me or is Justin Timberlake's image on the latest edition of Rolling Stone's 1,000th issue completely out of place? I mean, he's there amidst music legends, politicos, and legitimate TV & movie stars. He's certainly popular with teenage girls, I suppose, and my issue is not with his appearance on the cover, but rather his prominent placement. I guess Rolling Stone is trying to appeal to the younger demographic. I'm not even sure who their demographic is considering the only reason we have a subscription is because you get it free every time you purchase something over $25 from the DMB online store. The only article I can remember reading lately was the one about Scientology a couple issues back. Now that I've read the article, it's in this humble writer's opinion that yes, they are a bunch of crack pots -- sorry Tom.

By the way, how does one become an inter-galactic warlord? You could just start referring to yourself that way.

"Hey Timmay, how goes it?"
"Sorry, that's Inter-galactic Warlord Timmay to you."

That's all you need and bam you're a warlord. I don't know though, I'm feeling I'd be kind of a stay around the house warlord. That jet-setting from galaxy to galaxy is not for me. You know, I just got the first season of X-Files DVD set (now that it's only around $40) and I kind of want to watch some of that, ya know. So maybe just domestic warlord Timmay, or putzin 'round the house warlord Timmay, robe and slippers warlord Timmay?

DMB in Chicago

Lago and I are planning our concert trips for Dave Matthews Band this year and we're going to Chicago for one of the trips. Last year we went to Alpine Valley, but we did not enjoy sitting on the lawn trying to keep the drunkards from falling on us – last time we get lawn seats. I enjoy a few cocktails myself at DMB shows, but not to the point of falling on strangers (you're allowed to fall on friends) and puking -- ah youth, I remember when I had my first beer.

Anyway, we flew into Chicago, went to a White Sox game, rented a car and drove up to Alpine Valley. I had been to Chicago a few times, but it was Lago's first time. That's when we fell in love with the Weber Grill restaurant. We have our own Weber gas grill here at the Lounge, but this was like going to heaven – that is if you love red meat. If you don't like red meat or you're a vegan, well good on you, but you probably won’t enjoy reading this blog, and bon voyage to ya. For those sticking around... ahh, we love the Weber Grill!


We went for dinner, Lago had the prime rib and I had a rib-eye -- ayecarumba were they good and they both tasted completely different, as they should. We also had the red wine sangria. Momma mia, wish we had the recipe. We looked online and nowhere to be found. Lago found some other sangria recipes, but as she’s known to do, takes a bit of this one and a bit of that one and makes her own. We had our first batch of sangria (for this year) just last weekend -- good stuff Lago!

But, back to the Weber Grill... we also had dessert, excellent as well. We had such a good meal and excellent service, Lago left a note on the back of the bill telling the waiter what a good experience we had. So good in fact, we went back the next day for lunch. This time I got a burger and Lago had ribs – so glad we went back, excellent again. We didn’t have the same waiter as the night before, but he stopped by to thank us for the note and had dessert sent over to our table on him.

Welcome to Lago’s Lounge

Come on in, relax, have a drink, put your feet up. You’ll find a mish mash of content here from lounge activities, music, TV, movies, beer, wine, cocktails, restaurants, info from our annual Dave Matthews Band concert trips, maybe some techie web stuff and hopefully Lago will join in from time to time with her wit, wisdom and perhaps a secret recipe or two.


Photo: View from Lago's Lounge