More of Ken's Rules to Live By

31. Never order fried chicken or dairy products from a fast food restaurant in a bad neighborhood.

32. "Money-back guarantee" always means you will want your money back.

33. No matter your politics or your proximity to the east coast, "The Times" always means the New York Times.

34. Every American should be able to name the current Supreme Court justices, the current Secretary of State, and the current Attorney General.

35. Always say hello to the person in the elevator.

36. If an ex finds it easy to stay friends after the breakup, they were never in love with you.

37. Always spend more for top-shelf.

38. Go to your high school reunions, but never be smug, and never be ashamed.

39. Spend the most you can afford on good shoes, a great mattress, and a healthy office chair.

40. Never get your oil changed at the dealership.

For the complete list of Ken's Rules to Live By, click here.

Great sermon on holiness ...

One of my favorite friends, Steve Schlossberg gave a fantastic sermon on holiness several weeks ago at Truro. Check it out and let me know what you think ...

Available at www.trurochurch.org

Printed version, or
listen to the mp3.

Recommended: The Fray

The Fray is cool. Check 'em out ... not just "Over My Head", which radio is going to kill by playing it until we jump out of a moving car, but their other great tracks as well.

Recommended: Tabard Inn

Thanks to Miss Meyer for taking me to the Tabard Inn on N Street between 17th and 18th for brunch. How have I lived here for 13 years and missed this place?

This neighborhood inn is a cozy, casual place for drinks in the evening in front of the fire when it's cold out, or a reasonably-priced brunch on the patio in good weather.

The bloody mary? A strong 8. The food, a strong 8. The prices, an 8.5. Atmosphere? 9.

By noon on Sunday, the entire hotel seemed to be hopping with fun people drinking coffee, reading the paper, and lounging around on the deep sofas or at the bar.

This is a great alternative to the Diner, Open City or St. Ex for brunch in Northwest.

Reservations are a good idea, especially if you want to sit outside. I think I've found a new regular hangout. See you there!

www.tabardinn.com

Recommended: Jamie Cullum

I assumed everyone and their dog had heard of piano-prodigy Jamie Cullum, but after a few blank stares at the mention of his name lately, I've decided that somehow, he has slipped by some of you.

This guy is amazing. He's in his early twenties but has a voice and seasoned piano style way beyond his years. His concerts are frenetic and fun, and both of his albums are solid all the way through. Check him out ...

Click the iTunes button to get Jamie Cullum's "All at Sea", one of my favorites.

No Comment.

Ok so my friend Laura starts her own blog last week and she already has about a billion people commenting on each of her posts. That's what I want ... I mean I'm grateful that so many of you visit and read, but few of you comment. Thats half the fun. It's what makes it feel like we are all in here hanging out together ... without comments I feel a little bit like the poor person in this picture.

Why do my friends not like to comment? Is it because I'm making a fool of myself and you don't want to be a part of it? Is it because you're afraid? Post anonymously! Perhaps the most likely reason is that you are not technically savvy enough to comment. I hang out with great folk, but techies you are not. For the most part.

Please comment. Please post. Call me and I'll tell you how. It will be fine. Really. Not that you asked me, but it's too quiet in here.

PS. Thanks to Betsy, Girl Con Queso, Cynthia, Corby, Paige and others for their frequent comments. Way to lead!

More of Ken's Rules to Live By

26. Taking a long, leisurely stroll through Whole Foods to snack at every sample station because you are hungry ... perfectly acceptable. Samples are intended to be tried by hungry customers. Snacking off the salad or hot food bar? ILLEGAL.

26.5 If you are in the meat area and the person serving up the samples can't look you in the eye and tell you in excruciating detail exactly what's in the sample, keep movin.

27. If you pay more than $35 for a bottle of wine at a restaurant, and the server does not let you taste the wine before pouring, ask for the manager. If they are going to rob you for wine, at least make 'em play by the rules.

28. Spotted in the Whole Foods line ... a woman with a bottle of wine and organic toothpaste in her basket. People, if you drink alcohol, a little fluoride ain't gonna hurtcha.

29. Never, ever order anything with hollandaise sauce. It's next to impossible for a restaurant to keep it sanitary. For more information, read Kitchen Confidential with Anthony Bourdain.

30. Never consume food product that is bright blue.

Click here for the entire list of Ken's Rules to Live By.

Margarita Alternative

The Cedar Door in Austin, TX is one of my favorite bars. Originally located in an old converted train car with a deck dropped in a gravel parking lot along Town Lake, the bar (and the train car) have been relocated downtown when lakefront property-value skyrocketed. But the door is still there, and so are the Mexican Martinis. These double drinks are served in a shaker with a strainer and lots of olives. With gold tequila instead of vodka or gin, it's more of a twist on a margarita than a martini.

Be careful, the olive juice fools you into thinking there isn't much kick to this drink ... wrong.

Cedar Door's Original Mexican Martini
In a 16-oz. shaker glass full of ice combine:
1 1/2 oz. Sauza Gold Tequila
1 1/2 oz. Hiram Walker Triple Sec

Finish filling the shaker with freshly squeezed lime juice, a splash of orange juice, about a teaspoon of olive juice and a splash of sweet and sour. Shake well and serve the guys in the shaker and the girls in a salted martini glass. You should have bowls of olives around to snack on with this drink ... the pair beats wine and cheese any time. Serve Ken in a plastic Solo cup ... his favorite barware.

More Ken's Rules to Live By

21. I don't care if your child invents the malaria vaccine, lose the "My honor roll student goes to Blahblah Elementary" sticker on the SUV.

22. Unless I can train a dog to poop in the toilet or a trash can, I will never have a hound in the city.

23. Ringtones other than the ones that go "ring! ring!" are for teens ... unless you use them to ridicule your friends by assigning funny rings to their number. Guess which one of you has been assigned "The Dukes of Hazzard" theme song?

24. Truth be told, if I'm not a close enough friend or family member for you to email or call me, I'm probably not going to care about what's in your annual newsletter.

25. Never pay more per liter for bottled water than you pay for gasoline.

Click here for the complete list of "Ken's Rules to Live By."

More Fisheye at Kramers

Our quarterly brunch with the Hoangs at Kramers continues.

Dang ... really delicious, but very spicy bloody marys served with the all drink inclusive brunch. Skip the mimosas.

Click here to see more of Anthony's fisheye lens photos.

What I want for Christmas:

If anyone needs gift ideas for me, I would love one of these shirts ... wrapped in flank steak!

Click here to order.

More "Ken's Rules to Live By"

16. If you can "pinch an inch", you have no business wearing a shirt that does not cover your belly button, and certainly not to church.

17. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times ... never bring your host a bottle of wine that cost you less than the gas it takes to drive to their house.

18. I did not come up with this, but ... "If you hear a southerner say "Hey ya'll, watch this!" you should stand back. It's likely someone is about to get hurt." This is really true.

19. Don't stand too close to an active microwave.

20. You should laugh hard enough that you must sit down at least once a month.

For the entire "Ken's Rules to Live By", click here.

Great 4th

Had a great day off on the 3rd with friends in Georgetown at Heidi Metcalf's manse.

On the 4th, we headed to Harper's Ferry for tubing on the Potomac. The river was high and fast, and the only tragedy of the day was Amy's sunburn and lost sunglasses. Though Andy refused to give us an encore presentation of his famous "Lotion Dance", a fun time was had by all.

I love my friends.

Click here for more pics.

"Not that you asked me, but ..." goes underground

It's time to give this blog a little more anonymity. I may want to run for office someday.

After July 5, 2006, you will no longer be able to access my blog "Not that you asked me, but ..." from the website with my name.

Instead, please bookmark www.ntyamb.com to keep reading ... I hope you will follow me to the new location!

Ken

What the #$%^&!?

This morning I logged on to www.nytimes.com to enjoy my new subscription only to find this photograph.

For an infinitesimal nanosecond, my brain said, "women!" I then recoiled in horror when I realized it was a bunch of dudes in what must be the most ridiculous display of attire the world has even seen.

And these are not photographs from the International Male catalogue, but the latest offerings from heterosexual designers! The picture shows (from left to right) Gucci, Prada, Armani, Calvin Klein, and Missoni. Fifth Avenue has become more bizarre than the Sunset Strip. If I needed any more reason to buy my clothes at Target, I have found it here.

I mean look at the poor schmuck with the red jacket. Can you imagine what must have been going through his mind when he arrived at the show and saw this little number hanging on the rack? This is why models do drugs.

I guess I should just be thankful that skinny legs are "in".